Supergirl Guardian Angel
by Vaclav
Summary: This is a story for a possible second Supergirl movie. Kara's life is about to change dramatically and she will never be the same again. Join Supergirl in her quest to save her beloved ones and herself from the most dangerous threat she has ever faced.
1. The Ranam Cult

**DISCLAIMER:** DC Comics' Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story written herein is meant for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from it. No infringement is intended. I also reserve the right to this story any original characters I created for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**The Ra****nam Cult**

S'kriva'h, the blue giant, was glowing proudly and powerfully. It was one of the universe's youngest and greatest suns. The gigantic blue sun shared its overwhelming might without greed, but exaggerated generosity. Touching everything within her vast domains with unimaginable power. Sucking and vaporizing everything bold enough to significantly approach its neon blue-white beauty. Only one of its entrusted worlds was blessed with life. Only one could resist its beautiful power and might, the distant child, the last planet of the system, the beautiful T'areba.

S'kriva'h was not just a sun, but also the prime inspiration for T'areba's greatest poets. Often described as 'The World's Supreme Treasure' and 'The Jewel of T'areba's Proud'. She was fifty-five thousand times as powerful as the Earth's sun. A true nuclear gemstone of God, blessed with greatness and strength; a power destined to give itself for the miracle of life; Life for the great planet, at the edge of its domains.

T'areba was a true green paradise, a rain forest like garden, whose name 'Green Paradise' justified its beauty and vast life forms and this was the home world of the keen insectoid race, which tamed and protected it.

T'areba was a heavenly planet, covered with thick tropical rain forests and vast green crop fields. Small and deep oceans full of life, and endless lakes and rivers cutting through virgin emerald jungles; with huge and low jungle covered mounts and millennial craters. Farming compounds and huge cities were everywhere, but carefully placed and planed to protect and maximize the living potential of the generous ecosystem. Its gifted children were a large and peaceful civilization now united for over four centuries under a single ruling queen council. Now united for development, for seeding their legacy beyond the borders of their beloved S'kriva'h. The first steps were slowly being laid, but a century or two would still be necessary to develop the tools and means to reach the stars the way they dreamed it; the vision they embraced when the first of their kind orbited T'areba on a crude and sturdy space capsule eight decades ago.

The low orange clouds dissolved and separated with the growing warmth and delightful light of the blue giant that rose slowly in the distant horizon. L'iusak lifted his insectoid head towards the delicately pinked nimbus swimming above, into the dawning orange sky, and straightening up is 6,6 ft tall biped form at the top of his singing retractile tower. His elegant head looked like a bald-faced hornet's head, but with marked differences. T'areban mandibles were much smaller and elegant, the antennas were smother and extended forward from the back of the head, their eyes were slightly smaller, whit a golden or silver ring around them. The exoskeleton was more stylized, smoother, edgeless and protuberant, more fitted for intelligent living than raw survival. His 2 legs had 3 segments that stood normally in a tilted Z composition. He lifted his two thick long arms and spread his 3 fingers and the bulky opposable thumb. L'iusak's exoskeleton was metalized green with electric purple joints. He was wearing a translucent flexible working exo over his natural armor, his farmer working clothes. The alien garment had intricate light purple designs that explained his line, the community he belonged to and his rank.

L'iusak extended his elegant musical spikes at his metallic green back all the way up with religious patience. Slowly and steadily he began to welcome the new morning with the sunrise chant. His intense and high hissing, similar to an earth's cicada, spread like the blue sunlight that was flooding the endless green fields around his huge farming compound, his home, and many others around on the great fields of K'len; also called 'The Granary of T'areba'. Almost instantly, another chant merged with his own, coming from another farmer far away, and then another, and soon many others. The T'areman's chant flooded the vast crop fields creating a passionate and vast chorus.

The brilliant sunrise blasted the sparsely clouded horizon in an explosion of color, inviting every life form to admire the indescribable view. S'kriva'h emerged completely at the horizon, reflecting his majestic light in the perfectly polished dark blue walls of the countless alien caterpillar shaped compounds; every one sitting at the center of 4 circular crop fields. The gigantic city in the great lake far away, with its tremendous egg shaped mile high citadels shimmered under the sunlight. Each egg shaped citadel housed an independent city with living facilities, food and hardware distribution centers, medical centers, laboratories, factories and research facilities. Each gigantic building rested on a crafted pedestal that once was a natural island, towering high over the lake's surface, 1000 feet below. Each skyscraper was surrounded at its base by a ring of thick virgin jungle; a living ornament to honor T'arebas's beauty and remember their origins.

The chant finished and each singer went back inside their own compounds to prepare for the grand harvest. The weather prophets had announced a glorious day ahead and a rich harvest for the last weeks before winter. L'iusak watched his entrusted crop fields around his compound with growing enthusiasm; he was already geared up and could barely hold his excitement. The long nights sacrificed to perfect the seeding mechanisms, crop feeding and stimulation, and the updated pest control robots had paid of very well; he had by far one of the richest fields of K'len, and at the end of the harvest cycle his family will surely win the summer harvesting prize. He was only waiting for the great moment to begin. His dark purple eyes glinted, his metallic green exoskeleton was even decorated with expressly ornamented farmer jewels his wife had especially prepared for him, for today as an early testimony of the imminent family triumph.

L'iusak programmed his harvesting towers, singing the distinctive command in his musical arm wrist computer. A pleasant melody sang back, acknowledging his orders, and the huge compound beneath him began to tremble like the epicenter of a very soft tremor. Four large circular sluices located at the four cardinal points of the complex opened. Slowly, 4 mighty 120 feet high automatic squid shaped alien harvesters rose above the ground and reached their cruise altitude of 100 feet. L'iusak sang the next command; the giant harvesting machines extended their sensor tentacles and optic probes at the base, and advanced forward in a perfectly coordinated pattern. Each machine drifted perpendicular to the other and lowered their altitude to harvest level. The moment had come.

The bug hunter robots flew away from the four circular crop fields surrounding L'iusak's compound, back inside their artificial hives to recharge their batteries. One final command and the farming towers slowly began extracting the precious grain in a circular pattern with the help of multiple blue cutting beams from the tentacles and appropriated suction power; closing the circle with each new sweep, like a whirlpool.

L'iusak sang satisfied and his antennas shivered with excitement. He barely noticed the beauty of the sunrise as he stared at the perfectly coordinated work of his entrusted farm equipment. The harvesters were doing a great job! Even the repaired one that was malfunctioning the last time and wasted several tons of food before he could deactivate it; now it was back from the food machines production lab and supposedly fully repaired. He wished his city's Master Farmer would have sent him a new one and recycle this one, but the hot headed master decided the huge machine still had some productive lifespan ahead so he had to swallow it. So far, he was right.

L'emuk, his neighbor, was staring at L'iusak's progress with his wife at his side, whose female exoskeleton exhibited a wonderful combination of metallic orange and gloss onyx tones, displaying elegantly the creator's choice for their race: males had exos with more cold colors, while females more attractive warm colors. The couple sang deliciously, congratulating their neighbor and sharing their happiness. If only happiness could last forever.

L'iusak lifted his insectoid head and glanced up, to the far domains of space, as if a guardian spirit would have moved his head. The spontaneous detonation above and beyond the edge of the atmosphere caught his eyes, and shaped a massive liquid fire bubble. Its form and texture was very unusual and the mesmerizing colors dancing on its surface fascinated every living being on T'areba, catching every eye, amazing every mind, scaring every heart. L'iusak watched the rare phenomena and touched a symbol in his forearm computer, it glowed instantly. His singing tower descended to the ground level of the observation platform in the roof of his farm compound. His wife was waiting for him at the roof observation platform, gazing at the rare phenomenon as well; intrigue and worry dominated her soft features. L'iusak was concerned too. There were no space test programmed for that day in that particular hemisphere, and the shape and glows of the phenomena was nothing he had ever seen before, nor dream about. But he was almost sure of one thing, it could not be natural.

"Go inside, my beloved one, I will follow you soon."

L'iusak's wife bowed her majestic reddish pink head in a silent nod and quickly went inside. L'iusak secured the complex doors and windows remotely using his forearm computer, and sang the familiar atmospheric sentinel's code. He also signaled the other farmers around to join his conversation in the process. If someone knew something about this, he wanted to hear him. Every farmer and T'areban in the area joined the conversation, much to his surprise with the same doubts and fears.

"Wetter Master V'ereta, we saw a strange denotation, apparently nuclear, near the atmosphere. Did you notice it?"

At the near city, inside the biggest egg shaped building in the center of the lake, a group of climate researchers at the farming weather control stared in muted amazement to the big images displayed in the elliptical monitors at the walls and working nests, with more curiosity than concern. V'ereta, the group leader, watched the phenomena in his individual monitor at his working station. He was sitting at the top of the central multi nest platform where he was commanding his research team. Each member had a nest station below him and the other composite nests around the platform were almond shaped surveillance stations accommodating private weather researchers. The eyes of everyone were on the screens, but their questions were on him, their team leader; the one 'always' in control of the situation. If only he had the answers his personnel thought he had.

"We are processing the circumstantial data girth now, and it is too soon to distill an answer. Please remain calm and transmit any useful information". Suddenly, the largest screen displayed the most strange and eye catching image everyone at the center had ever seen: the pulsing cocoon that beat like a space giant's heart exploded like a surprise nuclear strike, and multiplied wildly fast. The young pulsating cocoons dispersed evenly across the planet sphere, forming some sort of perimeter. The cocoon's glow changed dramatically from fire red to a metalized sterling purple.

The weather guardians watched astonished as the fascinating data displayed in their elliptical neon green screens showing the pulsating eggs blowing up, releasing what appeared to be some sort of organic mass that also seemed to be artificial at the same time. The masses quickly gained their progenitor's shape and pulsing life.

L'iusac saw that the mysterious bright dot disappeared in a flash, like if it was obliterated by a nuclear explosion, living only a suspicious ring shaped green aura were it was before. He was about to enter his complex when two, ten, twenty, hundreds of similar detonations blossomed rapidly in the morning sky filling it with their gloomy radiance. The deformed inter dimensional auras reshaped into massive pulsating cocoons, just like the first one, and began placing themselves around T'areba like small glowing full moons.

L'iusac watched, impressed and worried at the same time. The phenomena could not be natural, and whatever intelligence was behind it, definitely wanted to present itself fast and without warning; not the caution ways of a diplomat or emissary, but rather the bold massive force display of an attacker.

Questions and fears ran from mouth to mouth in the weather control center. No specialist or researcher seemed to have an answer. The chaos was starting to posses everyone, but the leader was not willing to let that happen, not in his watch. V'ereta shrieked loud, his musical spikes fully extended, until everyone shut up. Then, he took over.

"Listen, L'iusak, thousands of strange objects are orbiting T'areba. I believe they are of an unknown intelligent origin. They seem to reconfigure and reproduce themselves alone. Our optical sensors show us they are changing but we do not now into what. This may be the greatest day of T'areba, the answer to the mother of all questions" He looked at his staff with proud and determination "The existence of intelligent alien life! I will contact the atmospheric guard and the Scientific Conclave immediately." The high fidelity voice distorted rapidly as the rudimentary holographic image from the leader's watch nest became fuzzy, like attacked by a disease. In the next second all images at the station shut down abruptly.

"Control. Control!" L'iusak feared the worst and lifted his eyes to the morning sky. He scanned the puzzling dots, up and above, until his fear overcame his curiosity. They were like the vertices of an invisible net, but for what purpose? He was about to send a general warning message to all farmers in the territory, when it began...

The cocoons stooped pulsating and dramatically transformed into melon shaped bio hives. The Hivor living fortresses had finally mutated to the appropriated battle form. Monstrous moths formed and lifted over their inter dimensional skin and spat a swarm of creatures that rained down towards the planed like a thick dark cloud. L'iusak watched in muted amazement as what appeared to be streams of distant black smoke surged from the dark dots and dove towards the atmosphere, plainly embracing the destructive consequences of entering T'areba's atmosphere at killing speed.

The dark smoke descended fast, its composition and nature defined in a couple of seconds. There were not meteors or debris, but literally a swarm formed by thousands of some kind of strange dark creatures. The creatures slowed down before impact, but the crash was still brutal and powerful. Still, they emerged from their smoking meteor crates fresh and angry. Their main combat armor protruded outside like bulging muscles, ripping through their wasted thermal armor. The disposed armor dissolved in the air like burning silk. One swarm crash landed near L'iusaks field. The emerging creatures changed their armors and rushed from their impact craters instantly, like hungry lions. They attacked the floating giant collectors and complexes around them like killer ants, shredding and destroying everything with pure brute force. There was no technique, no plan or strategy, just pure and plain violence. Ironically, many attackers brought their own doom blowing up inside the exploding giant collectors in the crazy attack, sacrificing themselves frenetically for an unknown cause. The closest collector near L'iusak's complex was brutally invaded by the vicious attackers and lost stability and altitude blazing fast. It exploded violently a few seconds later, spiting a wild rain of sparks and twisted metal chunks hundreds of feet around. L'iusak ducked, face down, and covered his head with his arms. When the hot scrap metal rain was over, L'iusak raised his head and crawled towards the roof hatch. A loud and solid impact echoed behind him. He froze.

L'iusak hesitated a second, and turned around; if it was going to be his end, he wanted to see the face of his killer. What he saw nearly terrified him to death, his antennas shivered; the quadruped monster looked like a cross between a reptile, an insect and a wolf. It was mostly black, with a flexible armor that looked like exposed muscle tissue in some segments, had broad shoulders, spiked back, big claws and fangs. The creature's phosphorescent green eyes were fixed on him. It approached him, slowly... Like a horrific predator of some ancient child's terror tale. But this creature was real! Its eye catching shape and ever changing tattoos were unlike anything he had ever seen or imagined before. It was the fundamental warrior of the Raman Cult: the feared and lethal Mutalink. The bizarre trans spatial warrior that was not an insect nor an animal, not a living being nor a machine, not even a ghost... but a sinister combination of all of them. A magnificent conquest weapon, whose only purpose was to destroy and conquer; or die fighting.

The Mutalink roared; a high pitched roar, strident to the last note. Like a predator before slaying his prey. L'iusak covered his ears, they ringed in pain. He turned around as fast as he could and ran towards the hatch. The glittering mandibles of the Mutalink opened and the glowing heat of its entrails cooked the air, green resinous energy danced among the fangs. The creature's scream shoot forward, seconding several neon green, spiral shaped liquid energy beams trough the jagged mandibles that converged into one drilling beam. The beam went through L'iusak's body as if it was made of air. The doomed insectoid screamed loudly, his body twisted and convulsed painfully as he vaporized in mid air, in torturous spasms.

L'iusak's wife scared more than ever before in her life and hid in a domestic grain storage thank when the attack of the farming complex began. Dozens of Mutakliks rammed the metal amour of the main window and ripped through it easily, like breaking through thin glass. Shards of crystal and metallic alloys rained inside the main living room as the swarm rushed inside, they quickly found the female T'areban whit they advance senses and killed her without hesitation or mercy. Immediately afterwards they began destroying everything on their path; ripping furniture and artworks, incinerating rooms, shredding equipments and walls, without discrimination or control. Explosions thundered all over the complex, some of which blossomed powerfully to the outside, others spat fire like geysers of flames. The earth trembled, and a few more seconds was everything the Mutalinks needed to turn the immense place into a massive fire ball.

The Mutalink swarms continued to disseminate trough the entire globe rapidly and deadly: trough lakes, rivers, oceans, islands, continents, plains, mountains and jungles, like rampaging killer ants; running and swimming at surprising speeds while whipping out everything organic and artificial on their path, with a brutal and shocking destruction capability.

Twenty minutes after the first strike an unspoken command ran through the horde. Groups of five Mutalinks separated themselves from their respective packs and stooped their rampaging momentum; like black seeps abandoning the heard. They silently communicated and combined themselves, forming one massive pulsating inter dimensional cocoon. Seconds later a whole new Mutalink creature, equally lethal in nature, but with a much more sinister purpose than its predecessors emerged from the exploding cocoon.

The new and young air warrior jumped high and embraced the sky at supersonic speed, imitated by dozens of others like him, all around the planet; each Mutalink rising above their respective packs after an identical transformation. They were conceived to dominate the skies of T'areban, forever if necessary, but this time their journey would be short; the ultimate order had been given. The flying Mutalinks reached their designated coordinates and graciously dived downwards in an acrobatic roll, straight towards the surface. Close to ground level, they mutated into a dart shaped AP ballistic bio projectile and sunk deep in the ground and the ocean's bottom. The Mutalinks injected themselves into the planets crust until the adequate deep was reached, then... the sacrifice.

Without mercy or hesitation, each burrowed Mutalink detonated in a brutal explosion. Each one whit a force of 200 kilotons; destroying the earth, the oceans, the sky... and even their swarming comrades within their blast radius; but that did not matter, only the obedience, only the goal. That was their mission, their destiny...

Hundreds of yellow mushroom shaped nuclear blasts erupted all over T'areba, turning the unforgettable paradise into an indescribable hell of ashes and ruble. The Nature twisted into chaos as tons and tons of burned organic and inorganic matter shot upwards, clouding the entire atmosphere, covering the dying atmosphere whit a storming darkness. Almost all life disappeared in that instant.

But even after that horrible taste of Armageddon there was no mercy, no calm after the storm. A new swarm of Mutalinks rained down from space, promptly replacing their vaporized comrades; like flying serpent towards the planet from the orbiting Hivors; ripping through the thick storming dark clouds that started to cover the sky completely.

The chaotic weather maddened the planet and stole the warmth and majestic light of the blue giant. Blinding purple bolts danced in the spooky clouds, more than one stroke the ground harshly, further punishing the lethally hurt badland.

The new swarm literally covered the devastated surface of the planet again, running and screaming over the burned world, ruling between the storm and the fading sorrow of the dying nature. Destroying the few structures and citadels that miraculously resisted the first devastation, like macabre birds of prey.

In spite the quick and devastating global strike, one of the reinforced military citadels was marvelously still standing and active. The garrisoned soldiers and military personnel were battling their own emotional war: struggling to maintain order and discipline were hundreds of unanswered questions and impossible orders ruled. It wasn't too long until they realized their world was being obliterated, without explanation or logic. To make things worse their battle fortress was literally blind, so there was not much they could do to understand what was happening beyond their reinforced walls; but someone listened to their prayers and the fortress's badly pounded sensors made their designers proud one last time.

With a last struggle, the damaged systems transmitted data streams and images about what was happening outside and who the attacker was. The Mutalinks had already surrounded the military citadel and were roaring fanatically at it, forming a mighty war chore. The remaining T'areban soldiers managed to activate some of the citadel's main defensive armament, just in time. A few shock cannons screamed and fired magnetically encapsulated mini nuclear detonations to the horde, to the ash covered wasteland below, in a brave last defiance.

The Mutalinks never tried to avoid the fire, there simply was no point; the war was won, and this desperate attempt to change the inevitable was more amusing than effective. The Mutalink collective mind rapidly chose the warrior who would deal whit this minor inconvenience. A designated Mutalink emitted a telepathic inter dimensional command and a hundred of his comrades ran towards him. They combined in an eye blink to form a new terrifying creature. A warrior whose armor and destructive power was more than enough to doom the desperate last defenders of T'areba once and for all.

The new super Mutalink was three hundred feet tall, whit a firepower equivalent of dozens of Mutalinks. The huge warrior jumped and attacked the building, like a stalking tiger attaching his prey, tearing a hole in the smooth polished outer shield of the army's citadel whit its energized claws. The super Mutalink was as precise and fast as his smaller brothers beneath, firing spiked projectiles that drilled trough the massive alloys and imploded deep inside, causing an exaggerated destruction. While slashing and tearing the great combat creature pushed itself inside; his little brothers dug beneath the fresh ruins to take care of the subterranean section. The beast kept forcing its way inside like a giant monster attacking a building; ripping and tearing everything furiously, punishing the damaged structure until it collapsed whit everything and everyone left inside.

A Great pack of Mutalinks stooped in the middle of their run as the swarm of destruction finally reached its last target, purposefully spared. It was a reasonable large city in the southern hemisphere protected by an experimental magnetic force field. The beautiful city was now surrounded by a world of ashes and craters that was one of the most beautiful mountain landscapes of T'areba a few minutes ago. The Mutalinks surrounded the city but did not try to break through the intermittent force field, as if waiting for something to happen...

Nine hundred feet away from the city the Mutalinks opened a perfect empty circle in the middle of the swarm. And far above, beyond the hurricane winds and the expanding chaotic dark cloud masses, soared the monster, hidden in the darkness; the most devastating weapon of the Raman Cult. The gigantic creature broke through the clouds like a charging predator and landed violently in his 6 bulky legs like an impacting meteor; right in the center of the great circle; crushing the stone ground and sending a massive shock wave all around. The Broom had arrived.

The monster was big. No, it was immense! A solid bio technological inter dimensional warrior conceived to crush and conquer; without weakness, weak points or flaws. The huge creature strengthened his massive 6 legs, showing of his proud 1000 yards stature and bulky bio technological body. It was 50 yards taller than the tallest structure in T'areban. The Broohm...

The Broohm targeted his objective and prepared to attack. It rose its body in four of his hind legs, rapidly increasing their mass and density, and mutated magnificently in a poetry of changing forms and colors; now it was ready to attack. The combat ready Broohm opened its mount and a liquid red beam shoot out, cutting through the T'arebans greatest defensive achievement as if it was everything but nothing; like a scalpel cutting mist. The Broohm tilted his massive head backwards, allowing his glowing cutting beam to shoot upwards after until it reached 90°, and let it burn the sky for a few seconds; proving everyone its strength and destructive power.

The last hope of the remaining T'arebans was no more.

The Broohm roared furiously and jumped forward, to the center of the city. It was an incomparable jump; tons or crushed rocks and ashes ejected upwards whit the power of the mighty impulse, following the giant warrior's short flight and spilling all over him. It landed brutally right in the middle of the city, the earth rumbled and shattered and packs of near Mutalinks flew outwards whit the force of the meteoric impact. The giant warrior roared again and extended his 6 arms, each one aiming at a different citadel building. Energy eels germinated from its clawed fingers and crafted a growing black hole. The black balls, one of the universe's most destructive forces, grew until they reached the size of spheres big enough for the gigantic hands to hold. The Broohm opened his palms and released the dark orbs. Each black hole flew towards its intended targets like intelligent missiles and impacted whit full force; the results could not be more devastating. The black holes literally swallowed and disintegrated each citadel they hit whit unimaginable suction power, and surprisingly collapsed in the moment their job was done. The few bold Mutalinks that were to close to the destructive show were swallowed and disintegrated within the massive gravitational pull, but it was irrelevant; for each fallen Mutallink a hundred more were ready to replace it.

Now, the once bristling city full of life, dreams and progress, was nothing more than a sad memory; even less... a silent desolation. All buildings were gone except one, only one. Carefully preserved from the annihilation.

The Mutalinks flooded the city's perimeter like a tidal wave and rapidly surrounded the big sparred building. Thousands started to climb its smooth and richly carved metalized ceramic walls, while thousands dug beneath it, separating the massive structure from its base in an epic scene. Raising the massive building several feet of the ground with a titanic effort. The countless Mutalinks above and below created a living pedestal and an intricate net around the structure, restricting it for a double purpose: to stop any unwelcome guest, and stop any inhabitant to leave without permission.

When the living restrains were complete, an inter dimensional bubble formed directly in front of the building, a hundred yards apart, and inflated like a balloon. The perfect sphere was smooth and massif, covered whit intricate grows and strange symbols everywhere. There was a tone, and then the sphere split in hundreds of symmetrical fragments from both poles to the equator. The fragments flew away, vanishing into the air, revealing five elegant throne like structures that floated inside; each one different and remarkable in its own way.

The throne at the far left wing had an elegant and strange blossomed lotus flower form, beautiful to the last detail of its motives, scintillating colors and symbols; mighty and elegant as the humanoid alien general that sat proudly on it: Sindra. Her body was smooth and her skin was dark blue, covered whit symmetrical dots that ran from the back of her neck to the tips of her 3 toed feet. She wore an ornamented Raman Cult's battle gown. Next to her, Dramyu's throne, a majestic nest similar to a jelly fish, whit tentacles that danced graciously in the air around it, transparent as the almost humanoid shaped alien with glowing purple eyes sitting on it. His vast and luminous circulatory system and few trans spatial organs were clearly visible.

At the far right wing Shym's throne was like a black pearl whit a chopped tip, whit little red, blue and yellow suns nested in dozens of niches carved around the throne. He seemed to be made of moving molten lava, and constantly changing his form. Little multi colored suns were orbiting around his throne as well, like electrons around the nucleolus. Next to him, at the left of the great central throne, was Dorvakh; the Raman Cult's Judge, Juror, and Executioner. Dorvakh rested his bizarre smooth body, very similar to the alien sitting on the center. His throne was a sculpted giant alien head, similar to his own; an amazing monument to his race's greatest judge and warrior; the head of Morakh. But no one of the four amazingly beautiful and strange thrones could compare to the biggest one in the center.

The great and majestic throne had dominated the colossal view from the very beginning. Sitting on a structure that was a monument to power and defeated foes, was the architect of the planet's destruction: Sarakh the Great. His intriguing humanoid shape was like a mix between an insect, a reptile and a human. He was scaring and marvelously majestic at the same time, whit living tattoos running and reshaping all over his massive body, changing and adapting to his moves and moods. The sharp crest in his majestic head rose upwards proudly; a strange fusion between a crown and a combat helm. His exoskeleton, besides being an intelligent living armor, was also a royal outfit. Sarakh gestured to the general at his right; the transparent alien whit thick ostrich kind of legs cried powerfully and pointed at the wall in front of him whit his index. A luminous dot surged in the center of the finger, in a vein, and split into two dots, from two different colors. The shining dots floated to the outside and spin following the finger's circumference. The dots grew a little and shot forward forming a spiraling, two colored, solid beam. The beam hit the wall surface and formed a ring that dragged the thick heavy alloy wall to an endless deep, like a whirlpool sucking water to its center, and disappeared in a tiny flash. Sarakh's throne advanced first to the inside of T'areba's last standing building as a king whit his war cohort behind him, floating above the loud Mutalink frenzy that covered the earth below and formed the mighty platform that held the building up. The conqueror's throne entered the powerless building silently and slowly. The interior was a mix between a high tech hive and city environment, the colors were mostly soft pink and light purple; the ovoid lights were off and the big elliptical corridors were deserted. There were so many smooth angles and curves... The pale colors and the general "pacific" ambient contrasted severally whit the sharp edges, fangs, claws, and the shiny dark colors conforming his throne.

Sarakh's generals followed him closely, each in his own throne, in perfect tuning, two at each side; representing the order and power levels of the cult. A faint tremor caressed the building from bottom to top as a swarm of Mutalinks flooded inside like hungry dogs, whit orders of searching and destroying any resistance or threat they find.

The living tattoo in Sarakh's forehead changed its shape, and his eyes became living flames. An invisible but terribly destructive wave consumed everything in front of him like a big disintegrating ray; doors, walls, equipment, vaporized like burning gunpowder. The destruction stooped when a heavy armored door vanished before his power. Sarakh advanced towards the now revealed gigantic lab whit his generals behind him, his faced flushed whit delight. The Mutalink swarm advanced inside the lab, searching for something, illuminating the darkened place whit newer luminous armor adaptation; they were definitely Sarakh's proud war dogs and one of his finest creations. The lab complex was huge, whit advance equipment and computers carefully organized and placed all around. The ceiling was as high as a skyscraper, sharing its vast space whit suspended analyzers and heavy equipment carefully stored in the amazing darkened heights. The Mutalinks screams soon blended whit an intense pledging and sobbing in an unknown language. Four of them emerged from the fading darkness deep inside the lab, carrying their victim to their master, whit the care of a nurse.

"Help!" The T'areban screamed and struggled desperately, only until the terrifying attackers held his members firmly enough to cut his movements, but whit a gentleness that seemed unknown to those destructive mandibles. His hands trembled uncontrollably. "Please stop..." He had finally realized there was no escape, perhaps only the moment before the kill. He visualized that with as much certainty as he understood that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The Mutalinks strengthened him up and presented him like a living sculpture to their master; a public spectacle of the T'areban defeat and destruction.

The T'areban looked into the glowing purple eyes of the mighty terrifying alien sitting on the spooky throne; he had to be the leader, the boss... And he spoke, whit an intense and amazingly clean voice.

"I heard that you banished fear from your race's existence long time ago, because you conquered it. Was it a Lie? Or just another tale to boast your race's pried and moral?"

The T'areban tilted his head slightly, clearly surprised to hear that strange alien creature speaking in his mother thong. "Your language is known to me. As well as your identity, K'mar. I am Sarakh The Great. I am the one who destroyed your past, your present, and holds the future of your kind in my hands. Know now that your life has little importance to me, and the only reason you still keep it is because you have information I seek. Open your knowledge to me, so you and a few other T'arebans live."

K'mar knew this nightmare was real, he knew he had no chance of escaping or changing this cruel fate, so he chose defiance.

"If what you have said is true, alien, then the only way I can harm you is by refusing your request. And I want to refuse very much!"

Sarakh roared and laughed at the same time. With a mighty grin in his face he disappeared from his throne, dived between space and time, and reappeared directly in front of K'len. The T'areban scientist was much smalled than him, and was scared to the death.

Delighted whit this display of T'areban's bravery, the warlord approached his elegant and ferocious face to his victims eyes. Sarakh's tail was swinging placidly in the air behind him and stoke suddenly, without warning; like a vicious snake. The mutating prehensile member coiled around K'mar's neck with almost enough force to pop his eyes out, the Mutalinks released him. K'mar wanted to scream, but he couldn't, the grip of Sarakh's tail was almost pulverizing his neck.

Sarakh walked outside, carrying him in the air behind him, and stooped at the edge of the hole from where he and his minions entered the enormous building. K'mar was gasping and dying slowly in the alien warrior's powerful tail, almost losing consciousness.

Sarakh brought him forward and suspended him outside, showing him the unbearable face of his destroyed home world; a burned and rotten paradise. Billions of Mutalinks screamed and swarmed everywhere, apparently whit no direction or purpose whatsoever; while many others stood still and silent, awaiting new orders; watching their leader in the highs stand proud whit his prey in his tail. The Broohm walked among the city ruins, roaring loud from time to time. The sky was a dark gray chaos; chilly hurricane winds and intermittent bolts danced wildly in the massive dark clouds. The temperature was dropping dramatically fast as the few pillars of sunlight that struggled to dive between the whirlpools and the tick chaotic dark clouds were fading. Still, the scarce light left revealed vividly the magnitude of the destruction below. Minutes before, T'areba was 'The Green Paradise', now it was nothing but desolation, much like the moon's surface.

K'mar gasped desperately but Sarakh gave him no pause.

"I have consumed your world..." Sarakh moved him outside a little bit more, allowing him to fully witness the greatness of his macabre work of art. "Your dreams, your hope, your beloved ones... and everything you had or would have had in this planet is gone. Still, there is something I haven't take from you, the only thing you have left: your life. So, this game as changed now. It's not about conquest anymore, but pleasure. My pleasure...

Sarakh turned him around to face him.

"One way or the other, I will get what I want. I always do. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far I have to go, no matter how much I have to destroy... Now, T'areban, there are two paths for you: refuse to cooperate with me, and I will destroy you with all my rage and anger. Tell me what I want, and by pleasing me you will save your sad life and the lives of the 50 male and female T'arebans in this building I have spared so far. If destiny is generous with your kind, you will be able to survive, reproduce, and perhaps... rebuild some of your lost glory and richness. You have ten seconds to decide, K'mar."

A tense moment followed those horrible words. K'len weeped in silence; he had lost everything. He could abandon all, even his life; for anger, for revenge... But not hope. For the sake of his kind, not hope...

K'mar prayed and made his decision, remembering his queen's words: "If there is life, there is hope." His eyes pledged and Sarakh eased the pressure, just enough to allow him to talk.

"I will tell you everything you want, Sarakh the Great." Sarakh tossed him inside. The Mutalinks outside generated a force field around the building to make the environment a more comfortable for the weeping insectoid.

K'mar abandoned his pride and crawled forward. He knelled down before his conqueror, his tormentor, between endless tears.

"I know you will..." Sarakh voice was overloaded with sadism; now he could finally begin to claim his real prize. "I know you were the leader of a group of technicians who have discovered the impossible. Live within the deeps of the inner space. When did this happen?"

"Ten cycles ago. I was testing a probe with my team; it was the first stage of a series of experiments aimed to determine the possibility of employing the inner space for long distance voyages. Two cycles after the initial dive, the probe detected an unusual radiation that shouldn't be there according to our data."

"Solar radiation..."

"Yes. But very weak, still, we were most certain it was. So we send a second probe whit specialized instruments to study the radiation and its source."

"And then you found them... Correct?"

K'mar looked at the powerful alien in the eyes; his tormentor appeared to know everything already; to be always a step forward. But if they were some secrets he wasn't aware of, they were getting close to them now.

"Yes, we didn't know how to deal whit such an incredible discovery at first, but our curiosity was too great, so we made contact with a group of them. I think with the technicians responsible to survey their own reality. It appeared to be some kind of self sustained colony, but the scarce data they provided us about their culture and layout quickly told us they couldn't have been born in the entrails of the inner space. I believe they are a race of beings that started here, in normal space." He gestured his surroundings "And somehow ended there. But they are extremely reserved and only maintained disciplined restricted contact with us; more for cartography and specific data exchange than anything else."

Sarakh laughed, delighted.

"They haven't change at all! Even after everything they have been trough... Now, K'mar, I want the coordinates to the specific location where you found them. And... If you feel the temptation to remain silent for the sake of an unknown, very soon doomed race, you can convince your conscience by telling it that your life and the fate of your hope will only cost you the unknown fate of an unknown race."

K'mar hesitated at first, but the endless song of his world destroyed ecosystem thundering outside was the most convincing argument one could ever hear.

"They are here..." K'mar told him everything he knew, or though he knew, whit trembling words backed whit fear.

Sarakh didn't need to use any kind of torture or mid games on him to verify the accuracy of the information. It was very clear that K'mar was spitting the truth; he knew it partially because of the data he already received in exchange of the life of one of the spared T'arebans, K'mar's personal assistant. Everything matched perfectly.

Each general grinned in his/her own way and bowed under Sarakh's gaze. Their mission here was over and victory was once more on their side. Sarakh vanished and reappeared in his throne. He sat back relaxed and ordered.

"We are leaving. And may fate be generous whit this T'arebans, for they obeyed the stronger, and thus obeyed the universe."

Sarakh's throne drifted outside of the punished building whit his generals, and took them and himself to the deepness of the inner space, to the entrails of the Raman Cult's War Temple.


	2. The Myth

**The ****Myth**

The burning gigantic Ranam symbol drifted freely in the breath taking periphery of the Andromeda galaxy, sharing its mesmerizing liquid flaming colors with the vivid rainbow lights and shades of the majestic star garden glowing behind it. The floating bi dimensional symbol was more than a rare inter dimensional singularity. Its amazing diameter of 140.000 km from pole to pole and a thickness of 0 was the nest of the Ranam Cult's War Temple. The surface danced like flames, and the apparent deepness within the burning liquid energy was more than a beautiful illusion, it was the reflection of the Ranam inter-dimensional continuity.

Inside, there was another world, another reality. A place no one could enter, and if some one miraculously could... He would disintegrate and the little that was left would drift inside the endless Ranam labyrinth; forever lost between layers of strange dimensions. But the labyrinth was not the only singularity inside, there was much much more... Towards the endless center rose the great land of Ranam, the "True Paradise", as the Ranams called it. The place were the many aliens assimilated by the Cult's strength and ideals lived and worked, prayed and obeyed; dedicating their lives and ideals to the progress and expansion of the Ranam Cult. All living in opulence and their own ideal of greatness. Their urban zones and cities were amazing in every sense of the word... The Ranam bio architecture was simply breath taking and splendorous; despite the outward dissimilarities between various temples and palaces conceived by several different alien races assimilated by the cult, beauty and opulence ruled in each one of them. There were also sacred symbols regarded as holy and divine by the cultist's prime religions all over them, symbols which had some degree of similarity with the Ranam's symbolism and philosophy.

The meaningful and powerful symbols were clearly visible in the buildings and in their ornamentation, and even in the settings in which they have been placed. Each symbol, pillar, shrine, room or hall was inspired from the religious elements of the Ranam Cult, elements which formed an integral part of the Ranam way of life.

The streets were covered with tales and the written history of the Ranam Cult. Tales of greatness and conquests, of delights and learned lessons, and more important, the cult's main commandments were conveniently placed and related to each important historical fact. All streets leaded to one gigantic temple in the center of the urban zone; the religious palace of Cindra, the keeper of the Ranam's way of life and wellness.

The alien vegetation growing around the palace courtyard and the color of the courtyard walls declared loudly who was the herald in charge of that temple-palace. In this visual way, every cultist knew the allegorical meanings which the forms, the colors, and the statues in a temple are meant to convey and who was the temple's guardian and ruler.

Cindra watched the bizarre bright pink sunset in the endless horizon and the large bristling cities that surrounded her palace whit doubts and concerns. Her slender and radiant gaseous body, now in solid state, was shining delightfully, enjoying the luminous caress of the artificial sun that was gently bathing her. She was fighting many unsolved questions in her heart almost the entire day; questions she didn't dared to ask her Great Prophet, Sarakh. Mainly because he was a true mastermind and the architect of the civilization that was considered one of the greatest powers in the universe. And also because Sarakh's generosity and power was as great as his rage and stubbornness. If he only were more open... But then again, he was, with his brother and confident: Dorvakh. But maybe she could find answers for some of her concerns, with the proper questions... Perhaps he would listen and give her doubts some relief.

She told herself over and over she shouldn't doubt Sarakh's decisions. After all, he never failed the cult and always kept his promises; no matter how great or impossible they were. But this time... The cult seemed to be fighting for a cause so invisible and banal, that everything could be nothing more than a ridiculous personal feud from the great prophet; and that would be completely unacceptable.

Cindra raised her hand, indicating the alien slaves that were perfuming her body to stop and leave her private quarters. She turned her head 180° with delicacy and told her personal slave to stay for a brief moment. Baku nodded with his long cigar shaped head and knelled down. Cindra walked to him graciously, caressed his head whit softness and went to her floating throne. The throne hall around them was an open balcony with an incomparable view of the impossibly large city surrounding her palace, and was designed to magnified the always impressive voice of the female alien general. She sat slowly and spoke.

"Look around you, at the face of glory, Baku. Look and tell me what you believe of it."

"I do not have the words nor the greatness to describe something that only your grace is capable of, my mistress."

"I see... and what about you, Baku? Are you complete? Don't you miss something of your past? Don't you feel empty sometimes?"

Baku lifted his head a bit, as much as he could; no Ranam citizen or warrior was allowed to look in the eyes of one of the god-generals, even less to Sarakh the Great.

"I have no reason to keep such attachments my mistress, and only allow myself a few memories to remind me of the desolation and weakness I was saved from. Now, I have everything I have ever wanted, even eternal life. "

Cindra was amazed at her personal slave's confidence and apparent unbreakable loyalty. But his answer was not the excuse her heart was looking for.

"What about your former gods? Don't you miss them? Are you not afraid of their rage?"

Baruk allowed himself a brief smile.

"Why should I fear, my mistress? The true gods, the Ranam gods, conquered me and my world. I pledged my ancient gods back then to save me, to protect me... And they did nothing! Despite everything I did to please them over my entire life! They betrayed my trust and deserved nothing but my rejection!

Cindra looked at his slave with surprised eyes; his words shaped her own feelings and doubts.

"You abandoned your gods because you could not trust them?"

"Yes my mistress, and will do it again without thinking it twice."

"I see…"

Cindra took the decision and turned her throne around, her face flushed with determination and courage.

"You may leave now, Baku."

"Yes, my mistress." Baku bowed ceremoniously and softly left the throne hall.

Cindra's throne rose slowly. The richly ornamented hall opened like a blossoming flower, announcing she was leaving her palace. The lights of the great multicultural alien city below and beyond casted a marvelous shades of colorful lights that enhanced her majestic skin and the beautiful flying throne she was sitting on.

Glancing upward, she saw the first artificial stars appearing in the young evening sky. Each night in the inner realty of the War Temple was different and breathtaking unique; changing every day to honor the home world's night sky of each race present. These stars were beautiful, but they weren't hers today.

The aliens that noticed her throne soaring gently above the city bowed ceremoniously. Soon, every sufficiently intelligent life form bowed or saluted her religiously. She was a Demigoddess after all; a figure to fear and reverence; a model to look at and imitate. She was the guardian and ruler of the Ranam cities and every non military sentient being inside the temple.

Beyond the limits of the bristling cities, crossing the sacred Ranam plains and bizarre mountains, was the inter dimensional gate that allowed her to pass to the other universe of the temple; the Mutalink Gardens. The Gate was enormous and made of thousand active mutalinks moving seemingly without pattern, like a wall of ants; but always keeping the perfect form of the gate. Cindra concentrated and an invisible power commanded the mutalinks to open the gate. The thousand little killing machines move to the edge of the gate, opening a circle from were a purple glow blew outwards. A pink mist started to flow from the other side. Cindra hurried up and penetrated the gardens. She gained altitude quickly and flew above the endless mutalink spawning grounds. The field was mostly covered by a giant inter dimensional grapevine plant from which the mutalinks were generated and spawned. Each mutalink slept and developed inside a dark blue fruit, similar to a grape but more ovoid in shape, with many brothers developing in the same cluster. Shym was moving softly among the vines, in an almost liquid form, like a water snake; checking the progress of a new breed of mutalinks. Perhaps the ones the cult will use in its next battle.

Beyond the Mutalink Garden was the endless electric blue mantle of the Ocean of Doom. This bottomless ocean was the home and breading world of the most powerful weapon of the cult: the Broohm. Cindra increased her speed and flew considerably above the safe altitude; this place was the scariest of all within the temple for her. Even from far above the surface she could hear the broohm's roars from the ones swimming close to the surface, and occasionally spot one or two jumping high over the water. She could feel Dramuru down there, swimming among his entrusted monsters, ruling a kingdom no one would want to live in. She asked herself many times how could he and Shym live alone, only having the company of the cult's weapons to socialize with; the intelligence of the Mutalinks and the Broohms was very high, yes, but they were just thinking weapons; weren't they?

A few ours later at supersonic speed and she finally reached the flying pillar of light floating over the center of the ocean; the bi dimensional doorway to the Altar of Commandments and the Great Propeht's temple.

Cindra stooped in mid air and amplified the power of her aura. In an instant she shot out a single invisible power wave; like a perfectly transparent spherical flash. Her power signature reached even the far corners of the War Temple. She had just knocked the Great Prophet's door.

Seconds latter, the pillar of light glowed whit unbearable intensity, forcing Cindra to look away, then exploded violently in a blinding flash. The blast morphed into a gigantic alien eye made entirely of multicolored dimensional flames; it looked at her powerfully. The eye's cat like pupil dilated until it became a perfect circle and became dark blue, allowing Cindra to enter the deepest levels of the War Temple; the exclusive domains where only two chosen could live. Inside, she turned her high speed flight into a gentle breeze; respect and obedience to the rules where among the most critical cult's commandments and not even Sarakh with his inter dimensional powers would bend that reality. The misty plains before the altar, far below, were covered by pumpkin like cocoons were the Hivors slept and morphed. The rare endless purple shaded sky around her had no clouds, but hundreds of Keelings flying around like curious ravens; its concentration increased significantly upon her arrival to the altar.

The Altar of Commandments was one of the most important structures and the center of the cult's laws and judicial system. Inside it, Dorvakh decides the life and death of any criminal. And it also was the place where all of the cult's litigations were solved. It was an incredibly huge totem like structure that could also be described as a marvelous super tower, divided in ten different segments from bottom to top. Each segment was a deformed representation of one of the ten Ranam gods. But this huge eye catching structure was not her goal; she came to talk to the boss, to the supreme itself. Curiously, she could not sense the presence of Dorvakh inside the altar, even though she was ascending very close to it.

The last Ranam deformed god was holding a huge perfectly polished and richly ornamented sphere, covered with symbols that were identical to Sarakh and Dorvakh's tattoos.

The Ranam Great Prophet's Temple was the manifested symbol of the Ranam Faith, revealing the strength, power, and truthfulness of the great prophet's revelations. On the other hand, its elements showed respect for the basic beliefs of the cults past and origins; even having incorporated many new features to better represent the universality of Ranam, it was still clearly influenced and bounded to Sarakh's race and culture. The Temple acted as a constant reminder to the followers of Ranam that the path for the many was forever one. The temple complex consisted of the main house of worship; a visitor center, the forbidden library and the palace complex itself, as well as many secret places. Although it looked solid, it was an inter dimensional structure created to accommodate the leader of the cult: the strange and powerful alien that called himself Sarakh.

Very little was know about Sarakh or his brother Dorvakh; some cult's legends mention that he and his brother were saved from their solar system's destruction by the Ranam gods and empowered to become the leaders and rulers from all living beings in the universe for they faithfulness. The gods had taught them the path of Ranam and entrusted the responsibility to "open" the hearts of every living creature in the universe to follow the path of Ranam at all cost. Those who refused should be return to the nothing, from were they came from and were they were surely end.

Cindra waited and prayed to the Ranam goddess of beauty; she was not only her greatest inspiration, but also the source of her courage and strength. The goddess was never among the ten great gods at the beginning of time, but her strength and determination gave her the power to conquer her place among them; a place that was rightfully hers. And Cindra was about to face a challenge as great as that: to question the great prophet's motivations and decisions. It was a very serious issue; Sarakh was the voice of the Ranam gods, they speak through him. How could he be wrong?

Cindra hesitated for a second and she was about to turn around, when a circular aperture formed in the giant sphere's south hemisphere. It was too late, or perhaps a sign from the gods…

Cindra's throne advanced forward, to the perfectly empty dark interior. When the sphere closed behind her everything around changed marvelously. She was not levitating in a black void anymore, but over the gracefully ornamented floor of Sarakh's throne hall. The place was a completely different kind of reality.

Sarakh the Great was sitting in his throne, before the main altar, built on top on the last prophets eternal rest place. There were floating memory symbols from all ages containing the memories of all the cult's previous prophets and the history from the civilizations conquered or destroyed by the cult; the tales of the Ranam gods, and in the small adjoining shrines the first patriarchs of Ranam. The decoration was overwhelming and in some places tenaciously opulent.

Cindra quickly descended from her levitating throne and knelled down. Sarakh nodded and allowed her to stand up.

"Welcome Cindra. Is something afflicting your soul?"

"No my lord, I..." a cold and scary aura touched hers, it made her skin shiver. She suddenly looked at her right; the power signature was unmistakable. An impressive figure stepped out from the darkness, almost a reflection of the cult's great prophet: Dorvakh. "So, here he is..." Thought Cindra, and tried to deduce the reason. She couldn't find one so she left that mystery alone for now. She had a much greater dilemma in her hands: what was she going to tell Sarakh? "...I was, concerned, about some citizens murmurs... It appears that there are a few Ranams that are asking ridiculous questions about the reasons relating to our battles in the last cycle. I heard some are arguing that our last campaigns had no goal at all. And as your servant I have come to seek your wisdom and guidance.

Sarakh looked at Cindra as if he could read her deepest thoughts, and grinned maliciously.

"I could not expect less. Who?"

Cindra bowed deeper. "I only know about the rumors, my lord. I beg your forgiveness for not identifying the ones yet."

Sarakh smiled and gestured. "I understand their concern. And after so many battles and glories in this long path, I wish to let them know how our journey ends."

Sarakh sit up and a tattoo in his forehead morphed; his throne behind him vaporized. "Rise Cindra, and celebrate with me the hour of our glory!"

"Forgive me, my lord, but endless battles and unsolved questions had softened the sweet taste of power and victory in my heart. And I fear than many of your servants may feel the same way..."

"Nonsense, my dear..." Sarakh grinned and handled Cindra an alien flower floating nearby; she accepted and took it delighted. Cindra absorbed the flower, allowing its life to penetrate her body and give her an euphoric and pleasant sensation… The flower withered and literally dissolved in her hand.

Cindra sighed delighted. "Delicious, my Lord..."

For the Ranam heralds, the Darfold has always been the most delicious flower; it enjoyed unparalleled popularity throughout the high casts of the cult from the earliest times down to the present day.

"Thank you, my great prophet. It was wonderful..." she murmured with a soft voice, almost hypnotized by the sensation.

Sarakh gave one to his brother and enjoyed to flowers on his own. "Not as wonderful has the glory yet to come, Cindra."

"Tell me about it, my Lord."

Sarakh turned a bit more serious, but never lost his good humor. "You usually never disappoint me Cindra."

"The stronger will inherit the universe; it is the law of the creation. I am one of them, and my efficiency testifies my superiority." Cindra enhanced.

Sarakh took the subject in his hands and went deeper.

"Ah... Yes. But, are we already the strongest? Are we one with the gods?"

Cindra smiled, she knew how this little game was going to end, but decided to play it anyway "We are among the strongest. Ranam is recognized has one of the most powerful forces in the universe. No one as ever dared to challenge your power, great Sarakh."

"You know as well as I dear, that to be one among others is not enough. We must be supreme!" Sarakh pressed.

Cindra knew Sarakh was right, but cycles of battles and study have told her that the supreme power Sarakh always referred to was nothing but an impossible dream. Or wasn't?

"Forgive me, my lord, but aren't we already supreme in our own way?" Sarakh smirked opulently. He walked to the center of the hall and extended his four arms in a spiritual posture. The whole room transformed itself into a huge and advance holographic library were tales and ancient documents, historical images and millennial alien artifacts floated freely, each one more appealing than the other: the Forbidden Library. "Not without the ultimate power... The ultimate weapon!"

Cindra lurked forward and frowned, more curious than convinced. "And which is this weapon my lord is so eagerly seeking?"

Sarakh advanced through the holograms and played with them like a painter with the colors. He took the floating data and images and composed a beautiful and vivid story, full of life and drama; like an ideal musical composition where each note was perfectly placed. "Legends, tales, myths... All information in the universe is composed of truths and lies. But the superior minds..." He took a couple of ancient pup stories, and after breaking them in pieces, rearranged the data creating an impeccable new historical vision. "...Can perceive the truths inside each tale and extract them to let them shine and enlighten! What do you know about Ituran, Cindra?"

"The myth? A tragic story with a tragic end."

"Tragic indeed... But believe me, Cindra, there is more inside this myth than just fantasy and exaggerations. You see... There is really no such thing has a myth. All tales, lies or not, have some degree of truth, you just need to see deep enough… Our battles and conquest have paid us well, for they have opened us the knowledge and the path to the ultimate weapon, which indeed, the Iturans created many eons ago as the myth tells us."

Sarakh went on, showing holograms about a long forgotten civilization; the images were so vivid that it appeared to be a freshly produced documentary.

"Ituran was perhaps the most powerful civilization of the young universe, maybe even the first to reach the stars. But unluckily for them, their pacifism became their demise... This ancient tales explain how they were conquered and submitted. And because of their stubbornness to obey any authority beyond themselves they were eventually exterminated by their conquerors; all of them, except two. Two brothers who managed to escape the talons of death and swore to avenge their civilization and themselves by creating an unstoppable weapon. Two brothers with the same goal, but different visions as the time revealed. But obviously it was impossible to create something better than what the Almighty Creator conceived, so they searched the stars for eons in the hope to find the perfect raw material to reshape it into their dreamed Armageddon machine. And they found it! Both creations had the same based matrix and were 60% identical, but it was that 40% than changed everything..."

Sarakh turned to the impressive holograms of the two alien brothers displayed at his left; they looked almost identical: one was slightly taller and had paler skin, while the other's skin was darker and had more sinister eyes; the ayes of an assassin. Sarakh started with the shorter one.

"The younger of the two, Bertron, was consumed by revenge and could not think on anything else but to eventually destroy the responsible for the horrendous fate of his kind. While Raoron, his older brother, dreamed to recreate his lost civilization out of his "perfect" beings, to produce a new life form hat would never be killed again nor conquered. Sharing practically the same goal both brothers worked together fanatically, only until Bertron's hate and Raoron's dream finally separated them. But each one continued their own quest to create their "perfect weapon" or "perfect being" independently. The final creations of both were as similar as two Darfold flowers, but has different has night and day. Bertron was the first to achieve his goal, for his creation had many less demanding properties. But his weapon was everything it promised to be and more... It was a perfect and sadistic reflection of his twisted heart; an almost immortal monster, brutal in every way. A killing machine, slightly more intelligent than an infant; incapable of achieving any high intelligence level or to experience feelings.

"What happened to that abomination?"

"It turned to be so powerful and blindly aggressive than it became impossible for Bertron to contain or dominate it. And finally, it killed his own maker" Sarakh laughed "How ironic and stupid… to be killed by your own weapon."

Cindra looked at the monstrous Doomsday creature Bertron had created and a dozen questions arouse in her mind, the most obvious surfaced first.

"And that beast is the weapon we are seeking?"

Sarakh grinned and disappeared the monster's image. "No, Cindra... Of course not. To manipulate an uncontrollable weapon is like playing with a time bomb. No... We are seeking the true perfect weapon. Raoron's creation!"

Bertron's image vanished, leaving his older brothers hologram to dominate the view in the library.

"Raoron was not a blind vengeful spirit like his brother. But rather a sentimental artist as well as a genius; he created a destructive poetry, a killing flower, merging beauty and endless power in one discreet form."

Sarakh gestured and two magnificent holograms of a male and a female human like bodies emerged from the data streams aside Bertron. Sarakh's voice could no longer conceal his enthusiasm as he explained.

"Perfectly adaptable, creative and highly intelligent. Two genders, pure and unthinkable power!" Cindra's face didn't share his master's enthusiasm and gave her away. She was not even slightly impressed, but overly disappointed. If there was a great secret behind this, she decided she needed to know it right now.

"That puny being is Raoron's ultimate weapon? It looks nothing but weak and fragile."

Sarakh laughed loud

"But of course! That's what makes it even more dangerous! That it appears fragile and harmless... But inside..." Sarakh revealed her the astonishing data he kept hidden for decades. Cindra's mouth opened in shock, a long dormant feeling woke up for the first time in many cycles: the fear for something or someone beside Sarakh. "That cannot be true!" She looked at Sarakh directly in the eyes, violating one of the most important rules of the cult, clearly terrified and worried at the same time.

"But it is! Like Bertron's Doomsday creature, Raoron's creation is also triggered by the stars." A beautiful hologram of a young sun appeared between Sarakh and Cindra. "But his version is much more efficient than Bertron's, and according to the diary of one of his slaves, much more powerful and lethal, but more difficult to master as well; since its full potential can only be achieved under the creature's conscious control."

The big sun hologram shrunk a little and a young solar system surged around it.

"After Bertron's creation murdered his own "father" and eventually escaped the world where it was born, Raoron feared he would eventually face the same fate and took precautions about it. He ingeniously devised a simple and efficient way to keep his exquisite creation under control" The holographic sun turned red. "Red sunlight! It would trigger the nature of his creation to turn it extremely weak and dependable. And to honor his death brother, Raoron continued his work in the same world were Bertron's creature was born. The system's red star would keep them week enough to be docile and controllable, has Raoron wanted, allowing him to continue his work with some serenity.

Sarakh walked around the red star system's hologram, approaching Cindra has he spoke.

"But after his brother died, and even with all the precautions he envisioned and applied, he was still afraid... Afraid he would receive the same punishment for playing with a power he could not control, and came to a particular moment were he wanted to terminate his creation. But marvelously, his love for his creature and the hope of achieving his dream was greater than his fear. So, he hoped and waited... He watched his living weapons develop a culture; he saw how they procreated and tamed the planet. And very soon, he realized that time and wonder had turned him into more than just a creator overseeing his work, they turned him literally into a god. A god who would decide the course and the history; the life and the death of its custom made civilization called Krypton. And believe me; he enjoyed it for millennia, more than anything else before...

Sarakh turned to his brother. Dorvakh stood there, unmovable; with a proud and cold look in his eyes as his brother keep explaining.

"But sadly... All stories come to an end. The civilization he created became very advance, and although religious and social laws prohibited their citizens to leave their own solar system and thus preventing them to achieve their immense power; their probes and AI researchers quickly gave them a vast knowledge about the universe. Raoron had slaves infiltrated has they're rulers and high priests. And the practically impeccable obedience and disciplined attitude of his living weapon hold it in check. But it did not work forever. His personal slave chronicles explain that some of them became violent and rejected the laws and principles their god "Rao" gave them, becoming a danger for Raoron's custom created civilization and for the universe if they ever got loose. The slave specified that some reports informed that one particular kryptonian apparently discovered the unimaginable power that lied deep inside him. This slave always suspected that some information leaked and somehow reached him, but couldn't prove it. But the damage was done, and Raoron soon realized that he could lose control. He knew it was a matter of time, brief time, so his fears became alive again. Raoron then decided to terminate his creation and himself, incapable of dealing with the emotional weight and love he had developed for them. He detonated the system's red star, destroying everything and everyone in it."

Cindra grinned and went to drink another flower that floated nearby. "A wonderful story..." She absorbed the flower completely, enjoying every ounce of it, dramatizing the moment before the obvious question. "So where is the survivor?"

Sarakh generated a floating data symbol between his shiny claws, it glowed like fire. "Survivors, Cindra... Survivors! A whole pack from which to form an unstoppable army! The army that will kneel the universe down before us and will give me the secret of divinity."

"And how..." Cindra glanced again at the elegant images of the two humans and the impossible data that flowed endlessly beside each one "...are we going to make such powerful beings our servants? Are we just going to ask them to serve us?"

Sarakh perceived the contemptuous tone in Cindra's voice; he dint like it at all.

"Watch your sarcasm Cindra... You know my cruelty, as well as my intelligence... This pack of kryptonians survived because of an improvisation, a very lucky improvisation! According to the data we recently conquered, a technician in the surviving city was testing a new way of space travel the day their sun was detonated by Raoron. He desperately created a trans-space bubble around most of the city, and managed to drag it to the inner space were they managed to build a sheltered city and the necessary means to survive. They have been there ever sense... With no contact with the appropriated sunlight that would awake they're hidden power."

Cindra was not afraid of challenges, but if she was going to put her neck against dozens of unbelievably powerful beings, she'd better know everything. "If they are so advance how come they haven't try to return to normal space and found a colony on another planet?"

"Culture, religion and fear!" Sarakh gestured. "A very powerful combination, don't you think?"

"So that's what we were looking for... I understand the need for secrecy now, my lord. And now we are almost there?"

Sarakh approached Cindra and stood a mere inch apart from her. "We are already there! Each and every Ranam, except you..." Cindra never noticed Sarakh's second right arm moving at her left. Two clawed fingers merged together and a powerful drill shaped beam shot out from it. The liquid energy crossed through Cindra's abdomen and began disrupting her body like fire burning paper. Sarakh roared in her face.

An indescribable pain punished Cindra's body and her mind twisted like a pretzel. Her life force burned out and her marvelous strength perished. She shook and cried loud as her body vaporized without remedy.

"Why?"

"You doubted me! Cindra... And you above all should know that the doubt is the beginning of disobedience, the root of all rebellion! And besides..." He looked deep into her eyes one last time. "You choose knowledge over loyalty." And let her vanish.

Sarakh looked at his brother; Dorvakh chanted a soft prayer to honor the fallen member of the cult. After finishing his brief religious duty, he approached his brother and knelled down ceremoniously.

"Brother, the curiosity in my heart is great. I beg you to release some of it; please tell me how do you plan to control Raoron's living weapon?"

Sarakh grinned and touched a floating symbol. The room transformed again acquiring the unmistakable form of the inner chamber of the Ranam Vault. More than a vault, it was a fortress full of trophies, treasures, and countless data bases from millions of races of the known universe. Sarakh floated forwards, closely followed by his brother, to the most secured and safest place of the War Temple: the inner sphere.

The inner sphere was a two hundred yard, richly carved sphere that opened as if were made of liquid metal, allowing Sarakh and his brother to penetrate inside. Entering was like entering a living cell, but the defensive organoids didn't attack them. Sarakh and his brother reached the center with ease.

The cult's leader landed on the misty floor and walked proudly towards the core of the sphere; the ovoid safe opened like a blossoming alien flower, revealing several colored crystals floating inside liquid transparent seeds. Sarakh took the green one first.

"Raoron was a genius… That is beyond any question; and an exquisite artist as well. The green gem is the termination instrument." He put it back and took the red one. "And the red gem is the control instrument!"

"But Brother, how can a puny radioactive mineral control or terminate a living weapon as powerful as those? That makes no sense! They are practically invincible and invulnerable according to your data; a radiation capable of harming them that way, or penetrate their structures simply does not exist!"

Sarakh smiled delighted, giving the answer away before he spoke.

"You are absolutely correct! The true termination and control elements are part of the weapons itself; it is not really the mineral's radiation that does it. Its different kinds of unique radiations are input commands. The commands they generate trigger the functions inside the weapon's beings that controls it, or kills it, or..." He gestured to the other crystals, delighted. There were so many... Each one exhibiting a different color, each one with a specific function. "Produces many other interesting effects..." He grabbed the black one "We could suppress the positive emotional parameters of the weapon and turn it into a sadistic destructive being, similar to Bertron's creation." He put it back and took the purple one. "Or we could shift them out of this phase and hold them there until we need to use them..." this time Dorvakh smiled viciously. "Like carrying one in your pocket until the moment you need it?" Sarakh laughed loudly. "Yes my brother! Like having one in your pocket for quick use!" He grabbed the red one again. "Or we could just turn them into the obedient triumph weapon they were meant to become in the first place."

Sarakh's brother smiled elated and knelt proudly before his brother; his heart full of pride, admiration, fear and obedience. "You are the greatest Prophet in our entire history brother and I am your servant; let this and the known galaxies to tremble before the glory of Ranam!"

Sarakh's ego flew triumphant to the stars with that delightful praise. But...

"Still, my beloved brother, it is complicated in its own way. Even after a long time, I have barely begun to understand the control process of the red crystal. It is very difficult to master and quite elusive; if done incorrectly, the weapon's mind would produce erratic behaviors and undisciplined tendencies. We are close, yes! But we may require more time than predicted after the capture to fully submit them under my control."

"So be it! Your orders brother?"

"Ranam will go to war! Our Divine ascension is near, and when we become gods, the true life will be ours forever!" With that said he transported both back to the throne hall and sat in his floating throne "Dive the War Temple inside the inner space brother, and take us to our eternal destiny!" Sahrak throne sank into the floor, as the room started to change again. Below, a fantastically large hall composed of military structures and colossal platforms, ships, war machines and endless lines of disciplined warriors saluted Sarakh as he hovered above them.

"The time has come followers of Ranam! Now, after countless battles and endless searching we have found the power of the gods! Lets us charge and take what the universe as given to us, to the strongest!"

The endless crowd shouted mesmerized in an orchestra of thousands of different sounds and languages. Sarakh gave them a little more circus.

"You believed in me, and did well! I gave you power, to each of you, I gave you revenge, and all the pleasures you desired!"

The crowd cheered his name without pause.

"But it is nothing compared to the pleasures we will enjoy very soon, endless pleasure and power!"


	3. Argo City

**Argo City**

The darkness of the inner space was deep and cold, quiet and vast, but not omnipresent. Floating nebular lakes and dust clouds of countless colors swam graciously in the endless emptiness. Far beyond one of many invisible clusters of gravimetric currents laid an ocean of colored gas shaped in the form of a gigantic deformed eye; if Jupiter would have been a cloud, it would look much like it. But the power that conquered that infinite solitude, that starless emptiness was not the mighty and scarce phenomena that inhabited it, but a woman flying marvelously in the darkness. The girl was flying and dancing gracefully in the void, soaring towards the near storming cloud, irradiating beauty and kindness.

Her angelical face was her most notorious feature. Her eyes, full of innocence, shined in an inhuman aqua blue color and displayed a beauty and youthfulness that was capable of conquering every heart; two living sapphires set in a perfect female face. Her lips were rich, full and pink, emphasized by a triumphant smile. Her long, smooth blond hair cascaded almost to her waist, shining in the darkness like a golden flame. Her nose was cute and her ideal high cheeks had a wonderful natural blush. She was wearing a perfectly elastic and intelligent white full body-suit emblazoned with the symbol of her family in mirror silver, the crest of the House of El. The suit's beauty and complexion was beyond anything humanly conceivable, whose beauty was only exceeded by the perfect female that molded it. She was fit and toned, slightly muscular. Her shoulders were broad and her long legs were perfectly proportioned. Her generous breasts stood proudly on her chest and stretched the shiny symbol above them perfectly. Her abdominal muscles were defined and clearly visible in the tight suit. Her waist was ideally narrow, preceding a pair of perfectly proportioned hips and idyllically defined legs.

Everything about her was angelical… She extended her arms like two mighty wings; like years ago, when she conquered the blue skies and swam across countless white cotton clouds of the beautiful blue world their inhabitants called earth. She flew downwards and to her right for a few seconds, then straightened her course and hugged her extended legs and spun like a tornado, displaying a matchless flexibility. She broke the movement suddenly, straightened her body and shooting upwards in a mighty vertical ascension. Twenty stunned pairs of exited little eyes watched her without pause, holding their breaths has her protector continued with her hypnotic cosmic ballet; conquering their admiration. The little boys and girls where all of similar ages, athletic and witty, all wore a similar bodysuit but less showy than hers. Each one smiled elated and cheered her trough their mental link. Kara was, as they kept repeating to their parents, the most wonderful teacher in Argo.

Kara Zor-El executed a perfect barrel roll and flew back to her place in the disciplined flight formation of her entrusted students. Their trilling little faces where shining joy, their hearts wishing for her to teach them how to fly in that marvelous way. She went forward and to the center.

"Kara, where did you learn to fly that way?" Asked the youngest kryptonian girl in Kara's learning conclave; more than hungry to learn her teacher's secrets. Her teachers answer was the same again; the vault from Kara's exiting tales and secrets.

"Earth" She smiled and blinked at the little girl, giving her another alien gesture she learned in that fantasy world as they continued their short trip.

The storming nebula was close now, spiting random eruptions very similar to powerful solar eruptions, but distinctively more violent, blending their warm colors in swirls.

Kara stooped at a prudent distant of one of the inner space's class B storm nebula. This one was relatively close to Argo, and curiously near the jump point she used years ago to travel to earth in Zaltar's spaceship. She then turned to her class and began to explain the science behind the constantly changing nebula and the forces inside it, while the kids mentally commanded their Nexus bracelets on their left wrists to harvest and process all data from the phenomena, and also to store Kara's mental knowledge.

The Nexus bracelets where one of the many superior examples of kryptonian's marvelous technology, merging all necessary functions to serve and protect the user in all needs from the biologic to the mental spectrum. Each bracelet produced a holographic data bubble around the user, only visible by him or her alone, displaying marvelous and vivid images and oceans of data as well as feeding their minds with all information directly, without relying on the subjects senses.

Kara explained about the astonishing eruptions that blasted out from time to time and instructed the kids to get near her; another part of her marvelous field adventure was about to take place. They were going to approach one of the coordinates her Nexus bracelet indicated as an upcoming eruption and observe it closely; as close as safety would allow them to.

The kids took their hands and gathered around Kara in guild formation. The young kryptonian teacher drifted towards the exact point in the morphing nebula, close to a vortex of blending colors. Still…there was a beautiful harmony in that seemingly contradictory chaos of forces and extreme visible and invisible energy emissions; it was like watching a blasting cocoon from where a beautiful energy butterfly would suddenly arise. Everyone was watching with great concentration, focused on the information their Nexus bracelets were feeding their minds with, and keeping their young innocent eyes into the growing mound in the cloud.

Booomm!

The eruption blossomed with such force that the group was blown backwards dozens of miles. More than an eruption, it was like a witnessing the birth of a firestorm, a storm where waves upon waves of dancing energies and matter where propelled to the outside with the strength of a nuclear blast.

The kids laughed and screamed in sweet joy with nothing but pure excitement filling their faces. Kara laughed too, and hugged the group around her tightly. The colorful blast engulfed them like a tornado swallowing a formation of intrepid birds, taking them in a powerful and unforgettable ride.

The forces around them where vast, spinning and shaking the group rapidly and powerfully, but at that distance the strength of the blast ad already dissipated enough to pose them no harm. When the explosion finally dissipated in the dark infinite, and the group managed to stabilize, the kids could not contain they joy and gratitude. Everyone was laughing and talking about how awesome it felt, and the incredible lights and forces that surrounded them; and of course, about their teacher's wonderful idea.

"Thank you Kara! This was amazing; you are the best teacher in the universe! The little kid, the youngest male, hugged her defined waist in a gesture of pure gratitude. Then the others started a cute symphony of gratitude that blush her dedicated guardian. Kara returned each gesture and thanksgiving with her own ones. She formed the group from the oldest to the youngest, and then she noticed it.

"Where is Ral?" She looked at the group to check again each little face, and then everywhere. "Did someone see Ral? Did he return without us?"

Cir, the youngest one denied with her head and spoke before anyone else.

"I didn't see him returning, Kara."

"None of us did." reassured Jhan-Ar, the oldest of the group.

Kara mentally contacted Argo's conscience and requested aid to locate her missing student. The answer was practically instantaneous, and guided her piercing blue eyes to a specific point; dangerously close of the nebula.

Ral stood before the monstrous phenomenon's chaotic light opera, closer than her teacher and the rest of his fellow students had dared to be. He was afraid, but the excitement and the curiosity in his heart were much stronger than his fears; so he observed and waited, counting the last instants before the mighty eruption than will give him the ride of his life; as he was expecting; a moment to be proud of and to remember for the whole eternity. His nexus bracelet went wild with readings and warning pulses, jelling at him in its special psychic language, showing him a world of information and data that only his mind could see.

Kara spotted him and her bracelet's mind warned her intermittently about her student's imprudence and the dangerous consequences of his disobedience. She called him again through the mental network, with a more severe tone, and flew towards him as fast as she could. He didn't answer, and scared or not stood still anyways, modifying parameters and settings with his bracelet; hoping that he could…

Booomm!

Ral opened his eyes wildly, like never before, as the enormous detonation literally swallowed him completely before shooting outwards with him in its entrails. Kara halted her futile rescue attempt as close from the magnificent waves of the explosion as she could. It was too late...

Ral screamed and spun out of control in the stomach of the blast, his figure distorted progressively until it dissolved into nothing; disintegrated by the powerful waves he foolishly tried to defy and enjoy.

Kara stood still and released a long and deep sigh from her angelical lips. Above her, all the remaining students were laughing loud and making jokes and funny comments about Ral's stubbornness and failed experiment. She let the matter go and flew back to her class; the day was only beginning and she already received a terrible problem to deal with. How would she explain this to Ral's parents? They would definitely be very unhappy about it.

The return flight back was always special; as one of their poets who made the trip said: "There is no emotion, no sensation as marvelous and appealing as contemplating the majestic shapes of Argo City growing from a small shiny dot, like a distant star to a luminous gigantic city, bright and majestic like a perfectly shaped diamond". Argo City was not just a modest kryptonian city resting peacefully over a floating chunk of its home world anymore; breaking the unbreakable void with warm light and life. Not just a humble refuge that once almost experienced extinction years ago when one of the four Omegahedrons that powered her was lost, but a much larger, completely developed inner space city. She now floated in the darkness with pride, like and eternal monument, breaking the unbreakable void with warmth and life. And today she was not more surrounded by four photonic satellites that provided light and warmth, but illuminated by a true small artificial red sun, reduced to fit the city's natural light needs.

Argo City, Kara's home, became Krypton's lifeboat for a practically nonexistent margin. It was once the most modern kryptonian city, envisioned as an advanced research and development center on the planet. Now, the pure atmosphere that filled it completely was constantly filtered and reprocessed. The new dome was not the old clear plasti-steel dome that covered the small community when she was 18 but a new heavy resistant crystalline shield reinforced by a dimensional barrier that covered it completely. After the disaster, and the miracle of their salvation, life came back to normal; as normal as it could be. In the new shielded artificial sky, the glow of the artificial red star that surrounded the more developed and elegant city gave the night a magnificent kryptonian twilight show. Life always goes forward...

Kara led her class to circumvent the small red star in a close formation, to experience the blessing of the sun's hot red radiation first hand. They laughed and spun, delighted with the tickling sensation of the countless solar energies bathing and passing through them. Then, finally, the star of the show: Argo City; their home…

The crystalline metropolis at already reached full standard development two years ago and now could expand and reshape with safety and according to its inhabitants needs. Kara was the first to approach one of the many potential airlocks that could be manifested around the octagonal belt that surrounded the city. Each student closed the smooth and shiny crystalline wall that in some segments appeared to be a fusion between crystalline and metallic matter.

She requested the ruling conscious to create airlocks for each of them, and like a father granting a wish to her daughter, the frictionless crystalline surface gained life; opening like intelligent water and assuming the correct shape, with living kryptonian ornaments and symbols around the opening. Kara smiled elated and concentrated one more time; her figure started to vanish, like vanishing mist, reshaping into a small bright crystal as big as a small refrigerator, with elegant curves and symmetrical edges; an inner space mental probe. All children turned into identical crystals that entered the mighty floating city in perfect formation and coordination. The airlocks closed behind them, becoming part of the huge reinforced perimeter wall once again. All probes rested in their correspondent nests and morphed into their fundamental forms, all but Ral's one; pulverized by the might of the inner space storm he dared to challenge.

Kara was floating in mid air, in the center of one of the academy's gravity pools, surrounded by her class. Kryptonian academies where like huge futuristic cathedrals dedicated to the accumulation and distribution of knowledge. It had its own mental laboratories and amusement centers, and was not only the place where kryptonians gathered to cultivate their minds, but also their bodies. The gravity pools where special environments where all could exercise and link their minds with probes and AI researchers to travel trough the universe for study and discovery.

All eyes opened while smiles and giggles blossomed in every face; the mental fusion between the class and the crystalline probes had ended.

To meld your mind with a research probe was a speechless experience; it was like living your body to assume another one, to become a new creature; with new capabilities and possibilities.

The artificial conscious ruling the class's physical forces lowered them to the shiny crystalline floor softly, gently turning them to gravity's grip once again, and vanished the inner space's perfect illusion softly; revealing the marvelous celestial hues of the gravity pool's structure.

Ral was nowhere to be seen; he ran home as soon as his mind fusion with the probe's AI was broken; unable to bear the weight of his insubordination.

Disobedience was a serious sin on Krypton; a crime almost as bad as murdering and severally punished among adults in case of committing it.

Kara felt the urge to look for him him, to tell him everything was fine, to forgive him and work it out for his wellness. But she couldn't do it now, she had other responsibilities left. She thought about what the academy's overseer was going to do about it and talked to him mentally trough the collective mind. She explained her version briefly but convincingly. The overseer agreed to let her handle the matter on her discretion; she was, after all, the savior of Argo. Every last kryptonian would have been death right now if it weren't for her.

Kara thanked Rao for the power and the influence she had been empowered with since her returning and remembered herself again never to abuse it, and only use it on right moment.

Huge 45° tilted crystalline pillars flanked the edges of the pool, two of them reshaped to form a beautifully ornamented exit. But they were not ready jet; there was one more exercise before the last part of the class.

Kara adjusted the settings for the gravity field that would be affecting each one individually. Each setting according to the kid's strengths and endurance, and commanded the pool to increase the power of gravity. Her setting was notably high, as high as a kryptonian athlete would use to train if there where athletes in krypton.

For the kids the training routine was simple and efficient, consisting on synchronized jumps, short runs and a slow dance that required an elaborated effort of each body part to be perfectly executed, and perfect it was; with an emphasis on complex positions and balance. Kara hover, used a radically different training routine than any other kryptonian; a unique and attractive combination of a traditional kryptonian dance and a human discipline called gymnastic. It was very chic and eye catching; it took the kids as much strong will to perfectly execute their exercises than to avoid being distracted bay Kara's wonderful jumps and her astonishing strength display.

Kara's training became vigorously intense in the last part. She was almost constantly in the air, with only momentary contact with the floor. Her final move could only be described as fascinating: she spun and rolled in the air five times, making her body behave like a wild cyclone, and finally landed in a loud thud, extending her arms in a perfect salute, like she saw a human girl make on TV, back on earth.

Her shining teeth reflected the brightness of the light around her. The kids were watching every last move, completely hypnotized by the speed and strength of her movements. No one else in Argo jumped or moved like her; Kara was in all senses a unique person, full of surprises and beautiful secrets.

Nim-Ar was bold enough to approach and ask the question everyone wanted to make.

"How… How did you do that?" babbled Nim, with his mouth still wide open.

Kara approached him and caressed his hair. Nim always liked that a lot.

"Would you like to do the same?" Her adorable smile was encouraging and perfect, growing only affection and trust in the heart of Nim.

Nim-Ar grinned ear-to-ear and nodded vigorously. Kara sat on her knees and kissed his forehead.

"But only if you promise to teach it to everyone who wants to learn it too. And it will only be possible if you put on it all your will and one big secret…"

"Which is?"

"Time and love, Nim. Everything you want to do well need these two things".

"I will never forget it Kara!" Nim-Ar hugged Kara with a heart full of joy. Kara lifted him and looked at her class.

"Ready for the most important part?"

"Ready!" shouted back all kids simultaneously, with excitement.

The group exited the gravity pool and each one of them, from Kara to the youngest, stepped over an octagonal shaped disc in the floor near the pool. Yellow, red and blue shiny symbols glowed powerfully on its surface and a pillar of light surrounded each one. In an instant, the body suits disappeared and everyone was wearing their respective domestic clothing. Kara's all day body-suit was white and her robe bright pink, emblazoned with the symbol of the house of El over her chest. The kids used a similar garment, with the color motif of each family's house and the respective symbol. They walked to a crystal chapel with crystal pillars as high as skyscrapers and huge bright walls that shone with a pleasant light. There was a huge altar in the center of the chapel and a representation of the kryptonian sun god Rao floating over it; it was essentially a huge crystalline sun, bright as the brightest diamond, with a touch of red in the right proportion to give the perfect effect.

Kara and the kids formed a circle in front of the altar and sat in the floor.

Cir-Ur was more eager to know more about her new teacher and her adventures than to praise her god, and couldn't wait to ask.

"Kara, tell us what is earth like. Tell us again, please…"

Kara smiled graciously. She took the young little girl at her side and sat her on her lap.

"It is a beautiful place, Cir. The sky is majestic and blue as your eyes. At night it is full of scintillating stars and there is a silver moon that shines almost every day. The sun is very bright, magnificent and yellow. When the sunset comes, it turns gold and finally red; just like Rao was back at krypton and like our artificial sun outside. There is so much life on earth that you could spend hundreds of years studying each amazing creature, from microscopic life forms to animals the size of a house… The landscapes are more than breath taking; each is unique and remarkable wonderful, like an ideal musical were each instrument and voice had been perfectly chosen and placed.

"I want to visit earth!"

"Me too!" another kid jumped in delight.

Kara smiled and looked at each one's eyes with a tender smile.

"Sadly, not everything is perfect. The vast majority of the people who lives there is not as civilized or good earthed as we are. Humans are very selfish, and do bad things to each other, many times without remorse; even to the ones they love..."

"Why?" another girl in the group asked, whit her sweet and tender voice.

"I believe because almost always they care more about themselves than they do towards their fellows, Nira. They all need each other as we do, but strangely... Most times, they act as if they didn't."

"Did bad people hurt you when you were there, Kara?"

She didn't want to spoil the precious fantasy the kids were starting to dream about earth; "The beautiful earth." she though. But then... she remembered her tears and pains, and decided that the truth was always better than a false dream no matter how pleasant it where.

"Yes, darling. Bad people hurt me back there. More than once."

"Why?"

Kara caressed Cir's chin and looked at her innocent aqua blue eyes, staring curiously into hers.

"It is difficult to understand, Cir. Human motivations are strange, confusing and sometimes… scary and dark. But remember that there are many other races in the universe that act in a similar way. And worse…" Kara smiled again and stood up. The day was beautiful, and she wanted to give the children the happiness and security she felt in them before the sad part of her tale. "And that's why there is no better or more beautiful place than home!" She walked to the center of the circle.

Every one raised their hands and began the praying ritual, dancing and moving their hands gracefully in the air, in a soft and enchanting routine. Cir-Ur was the chosen for the loud prayer gift today. She prayed loud and delicately, harmonizing her words and movements with her dance.

"Great Rao, we are your children forever. Remember us every day and night. Look upon us with mercy and keep us safe from the darkness beyond your light. Keep us together forever, feed us whit your generous hand and show us your perfect will day after day. Keep us from disobedience and write the eternal words of your laws in our hearts. Do not let us fall in sin and selfishness. We obey you forever, praise you forever, and follow you forever."

The kids held each other's hands around Kara and looked up, their eyes closed and minds focused. Each prayed personally for his family and Kara. At the end of the ritual the kids hugged Kara and wished her a magnificent day, full of blessings and joy.

Kara gave the children a heart touching good bye and went to the small crystal grove at a niche in a far wall and extended her hand. The grove shined and sang a pleasant combination of marvelous musical tones. One of the protruding crystals detached and flew to her hand. She picked it and watched as it changed its long octagonal shape to the well know symbol she was wearing proudly on her chest, the crest of the house of El. She issued a mental command and the small crystalline gem flew to her waist and held position one millimeter at her side, like held by a invisible, but without touching her. She then allowed herself another sigh and looked at her god's tangible representation.

"I will need all the help you can give me, mighty Rao…" After a silent praying she left the academy and summoned her inner strengths for the task ahead: to save one of her student's present, and perhaps even his future. Ral-Ta had a somewhat difficult temper for kryptonian standards, and that had cost his parents a god night of sleep more than once. They were constantly fearing that their son might develop the same terrible and dangerous behavior patterns of the few but never forgotten criminals of Krypton. He had disobeyed before, but never a direct authority empowered by the science council like her; he was now dangerously close to cross the thin tolerance line his people had over sin. And if that was the case, he would be separated from his parents and held in a special installation for study and treatment; for the first time in many decades. So she had only one last card to play right now: to become his personal mentor. A position that 'The Savior of Argo' could request and get with relative ease due to her very strong influence. But that would mean that their relationship from that point on was going to be close to a mother-son like with special obligations for her; she would be directly responsible for all his achievements… and failures. The law would treat her as his conscience, his second soul and could even punish her severally for his mistakes. And if that were not enough, she would have to invest a considerable amount of time in him.

The temple's breath taking entrance was enormous, and the crystalline stairs that lead to the temple's gardens and finally to the street shinned like transparent gold under the red light that flooded the beautiful kryptonian sky above. She looked at the artificial star and the awesome illusion of the long lost sky of their death world; it was simply perfect… It looked exactly like before the cataclysm, a way to help the inhabitants to remember their glorious past and be more comfortable. As she walked past the gardens filled with notorious statues and kryptonian bizarre flowers she received countless request to join in several mental networks, and even a special request for a mind meld from the city's conscious. All information was transmitted in real time among everyone so the information known by one was also known by the group; the where especial safeties to protect each ones privacy and personal information. But even so it could become overwhelming at times.

She avoided the teleporting pads at the entrance of the gardens and entered the main crystalline circulatory system of the city; she was one of the few ones who preferred to walk from one place to another, using the teleporters only when necessary.

The city's main circulatory system was a series of tubes, tunnels, roads and air ducts that formed an interconnected network within the city. Curiously, there were no vehicles moving around the broad and perfectly clean crystalline streets but many probes and robots that flew at a prudent altitude and everywhere you could see; taking care of the city's wellness and all necessary tasks. Kryptonian streets where not only different than human's ones but very special on their own way; all where equipped with vast amusing areas full of interesting places and refreshment areas, gravity sofas, virtual reality floating crystals that interacted with they Nexus bracelets and teleporters statically design and placed according to their location to mention a few of them. They streets could be better described as amusement parks that connected the different sectors of the city. Each one was unique and remarkable; with enormous structures, statues, sculptures and floating data crystals, as well as shrines where people could pray as desired to a smaller version of their deity; shaped as a perfect sphere; beautiful as a pearl, appealing as a diamond, attractive as a star. A few hundred yards away was the most crowded part of the city; she saw her beloved art malls with many of Zaltar's works, museums, music laboratories, wedding temples, more recreation parks, crystal conception and research chambers, universal cartography chambers, geneticall vaults, biological research and generation centers and much more.

Beyond downtown was the long and high "Bridge of Hoppe", stretching over the holographic kryptonian horizon. She crossed the amazing crystalline bridge made of thousands of floating octagonal disks that chanted tones and changed their color according to the person stepping on them to cross over the only lake in the city; more than a lake, it was the place where kryptonians could simulate and remember the destroyed krypton's aquatic ecosystem, where they could swim large distances and interact with holographic versions of their destroyed aquatic life forms.

She looked above, tears of joy caressed her young checks; above and beyond was another little but breathtaking kryptonian landscape to help the people to remember their past, it looked more than real; the red sun was high in the artificial sky, the colors where the very much like the ones she saw at earth during the sunset. She continued her long walk almost alone, like if she was one of only a few souls in the city; most of her fellows preferred to use the transporters instead of walking like a few exotic kryptonians like herself.

Kara crossed another relatively shorter and smaller bridge from where she could delight her eyes with a huge abyssal crystalline canyon. she could see the citadels and temples that where carved within the crystals and the stark white terrain of jagged frozen plateaus, stretching broadly around her. It was also an illusion, of course, but it was still beautifully realistic and a memory to treasure and never forget. Tomorrow, another illusion was to be projected and everybody, including her, where already exited and couldn't wait to see what it would be; but in her brief joy another more urgent matter struggled for her attention and won it: Ral… She noticed a Lysis crystal common to the residential area and knew she was close to Ral's home, close to the moment of truth. Part of her wanted to turn around and go home, letting Ral and his parent solve his dilemma themselves; after all, it was their responsibility, not hers... It was justice...but not mercy, and she wanted to give him mercy.

She lost her toughs on the flying crystal again synthesizing in her sharp mind its essence; Lysis crystals were a special digestive crystalline apparatus, generally spheroid in shape. Their name meant 'dissolution' or 'destruction'. These protective crystals were crystalline organelles that flew around the city serving many functions, from hygiene to recycling duties; due to the various tasks they were expected to accomplish they had different shapes and sizes, but shared common characteristics, both esthetically and geometrically; their main purposes were to dissolve or transform damaged or worn out crystals and matter into energy they delivered trough dimensional channels directly to the Omegahedrons, destroy viruses, bacteria or any unwanted organic or inorganic mater. They could fuse whit other crystalline entities to rebuild and change the damaging crystals. Other functions included digesting foreign components (or other forms of waste) that invade the city and help repairing damage to the crystal membrane by serving as a fast patch, sealing the wound in the shield. She cleaned her mind and sighed deeply, looked forward and kept her pace.

Entering the residential zone was like entering a fantasy town, whit houses of several sizes and stiles, shapes and functionalities, all molded to suit every families needs and numbers, all notoriously well design and separated: small families had smaller houses for their required lees space and resources, larger ones,had larger houses of course; their were so specialized that even the scientist had specialized micro laboratories in their respective houses, just like the artist had their own private space, workspace and gallery, and so on. Ral's house was a small one; and the reason was as sad as evident for the community; it was somewhat difficult to have secrets in Argo. Ral was the only son for reasons well known around the family circles; his random manifestations of stubbornness and disobedience produced enough fear in her poor parent's hearts to reject the idea of adding a new life into the family. A fear more than justified considering the strict way of her race to deal with criminals or potential criminals. And right now, with her kind slowly recovering their normal liefs after their planets destruction, tat thin tolerance line became even thiner; specially after Zaltar's imprudence.

Kara was unsure about how would she handle it. She hesitated again at the door, but then she remembered the Phantom Zone, the dimensional hell she was thrown into once. She remembered her suffering and desperation in that horrible place and her doubts vanished. She called Ral's parents mentally.

The door vanished and a elegantly dressed young couple bowed before her. The Savior of Argo returned the kind gesture and requested permission to enter. Ral's father gestured to the athletic blond girl to enter and join them in their family ring. They were expecting her, perhaps the … told them she was coming, and by the looks in their faces she knew they were expecting the worst.

Kara sat in the over comfortable gravity chair prepared for her and waited; she wanted to be the first to talk, but couldn't; their tears wouldn't let her. After a tense silence Ral's father courageously spoke.

"This is a very difficult moment for us, Kara. And we understand that Ral did something terrible today, something we wish he had never done; from the bottom of our hearts." he stresed, almost sobbing in the process; his eyes became humid. "But what is done is done, and we..." her wife rested her crying face on his shoulder "will accept any decision the academic council takes regarding our son". His last words barely came out.

She couldn't take it anymore; she was crying inside too.

"That is very noble and comprehensive. I simpatize with all your toughs and wanted to said from the beginning that the … gave me complete powers regarding Ral's education from this point on And I have decided to become his … (mentor).

"What?" Ral's father almost fell of his chair. He could not believe what he was hearing: to become someone's … (mentor) meant literally to risk your future and reputation for someone else (to become someone else's father or mother). Very few kryptonians did that in the past, and more than one went trough a terrible experience for such a decision. Kara was literally risking a lot for his son. "But Kara..." Ral's father wanted to thank her, to warn her, to understand her; but didn't now what to do first. "Why?"

Kara took one of her tears with her left index. "Because I believe in love. I believe that anyone can change and that Ral can change too. If he needs all my attention and time, then I am more than happy to give it to him. I want him to become the great man Rao wants him to become; if a sacrifice must be done for his future, then I want to do it."

Ral's mother was literally out of the city, submerged in a deep shock. His father stood up with his face covered in tears and hugged Kara, his wife followed them shortly. Kara allowed the gesture and shared her own tears with his.

"I would like to give Ral the news personally if you allow me."

Ral's father nodded and hugged her wife thigttly. "Of course, Kara, we will be more than honored if you do so."

Ral-Ta was sitting in the floor next to his bed, with his face marked by warm tears. He didn't want to speak to anyone, and had been crying since his arrival. He was just a kid, but even at his young age he knew very well what was expected from him, and the consequences of his fresh disobedience. Now, the weight of his sin was all over him, and he was deeply repented. But he knew very well that it was too late.

Kara entered his carefully ornamented room, stood in front of him and waited. Both sets of glassy blue eyes stared at each other, looking for something. Ral's face was defined of sadness and fear, but hers was defined by a soft but encouraging smile.

"Are going to take me to …?"

Kara's throat knotted. She shook her head.

"No, Ral. I came here to tell you how important you are for me, and that I have decided to become your mentor."

Ral's mouth opened a little as he embraced those marvelous words, a little numb from shock.

"What? Why?"

Kara paused for a brief second and then changed his life forever.

"Because I forgive you, Ral; we all do." she extended her hand. "Please come back with us, everyone is waiting for you, especially me." Her smile was powerful and heart touching, her eyes giving away nothing but the truth in those wonderful words.

"Kara!" Ral jumped up and hugged her muscular legs tightly.

Kara sat down with him and hugged him like a mother. Then something she had never expected happened, something wonderful.

"Thank you, Supergirl!" thanked Ral, with all his heart.

Kara froze for a moment as distant memories took her mind far away. The mentioning of a part of her she tough (she would never hear again) was lost (gone) forever awoke powerful feelings in her.

"Where did you hear that word?"

Ral looked for her eyes.

"Your mother told mine once; she said that it was an important name for you. I was close by and I listened. I believed it meant a lot to you..." He just wanted to homage her savior with something that meant a lot for her.

"Thank you, Ral."Kara caressed his hair with pure gratitude; no one had called her that way in years. Kara hugged him maternally one more time and stand up, cradling him in her arms. She laid him down on his bed and asked him to sleep until tomorrow, when she would come to pick him up for a new day. With a swift tough she commanded his bracelet trough hers to render him in deep sleep until the next morning, so he could rest physically and emotionally as well.

A brief talk and a promise where all she needed to conclude her visit. Her soul was pumping in joy and she didn't hide it; a beautiful and contagious smile accompanied her all the way out and trough the next walk home.

Love and hope had prevailed again.

Kara passed trough the marvelous crystalline arches that distinguished her house from all other, the only gift she accepted to keep as the Savior of Argo; as for her, she was only being responsible for her actions. She mentally commanded the door to open and entered home with a large grin plastered on her face.

"Mom, I am home!" called the gorgeous girl with joy and hope. "Mom?.."

Kara looked everywhere but she seemed to be the only soul in the house. She tried with her parent's bedroom.

"Mother..." called again. The room was essentially empty except for a large gravity armchair floating in the air with an elegant and beautiful woman sitting on it; her mother.

Alura seemed asleep, but still sitting in a perfect posture, like in a deep meditation. A small shiny morphing crystal that floated a feet above her head was illuminating her body with a cascade of misty light, adding more beauty to the perfect environment.

Kara came closer and her smile quickly vanished; her mother's body was sitting in front of her but her mind was far, far away. She was deep inside again; in another reality; a perfect virtual world where krypton still existed and lived as she remembered. The artificial reality was so perfect than many citizens practically lived there constantly, only returning to the real world to participate into specific family and community matters. It all started as a small amusement a year ago, but soon too many became addicted to a noble man's attempt to create a brief escape for his nostalgic spirit. (People nicknamed the addicts, The "Dreamers") There was even a formal request from the avid kryptonian group that practically lived in that fantastic krypton to put each and every citizen of Argo in suspended animation after reshaping the city to become a self sustained, fully automatic and evolutive colony. Essentially a giant incubator that will take care of each one's care, including birth and recycle, to allow them and the newcomers to exist into the virtual universe they have created; for the addicts, it was much better than reality, and the place everyone deserved to be. The ruling scientific counsel resolved to study the request and to provide the addicts the means to leave reality if they wanted so only under the condition to return to the real world if the council itself or their family authorities requested so. They agreed, and sadly, her mother was one of them... Alura tried to convince Zor-El and her to join them into the virtual universe, Zor-El refused first, telling his beloved wife that even if the virtual world was as realistic as the real one they have lost, he would always know it wasn't real. And that he preferred to fight for the future instead of escaping reality. Kara was in the middle of a family storm for the first time, both postures had their arguments well based, but even after hearing from her mother that "My dear, you now that the reality is actually the place where your heart is..." she was not convinced, somehow, she knew her father was right, and with eyes in tears she turned down her mother's request too. Sadly, Alura didn't resigned to her dream in favor of the normal development of their family life and kept submerging herself regularly into the virtual krypton; each week she passed more and more in there; sometimes even days without interruption.

She resisted the impulse to bring her mother back to reality to greet her after thinking it briefly; the last time she did, Alura went mad and they had a very unpleasant argument. She went to her room instead, walking down the short hallway to her bedroom with a melancholic expression; she already had enough problems to deal with and didn't needed to ad her mother's temper to it. She had a happy life, but her hearth also troubled her from time to time with wishes she knew she couldn't make real.

Kara entered her room and ordered the over relaxing and stunning VR landscape of a kryptonian dawn to vanish; this one was within one of the most treasured places of her gone world. Her room was a pretty and comfortable kryptonian woman suite with ample space beautiful furniture. She ordered all furniture to melt within the room's ornamented walls and floor except her gravity bed, shaped like a huge ovoid sliced diamond; she sat on it. Her Zaltar's Nexus bracelet commanded the crystal bed and the gravity field to acquire the most comfortable configuration for her, as well as the atmosphere. Kara sighed and lost her eyes and thoughts in the ornamented wall across the room. She had her own dreams; different and often beyond consideration. She concentrated on the beautiful looking wall while gently caressing Zaltar's bracelet. A touch and a wish and the crystalline wall became alive; an intense light dot in the white surface surged and expanded from the inside out as if were a solid wake pushing the wall`s crystal like water, turning the resulting crests into ornamental vines that delightfully enhanced the spectacular view of one of Kara's most beloved treasures; her Supergirl uniform.

The tight suit was worn by a crystal statue identical as her; a carefully crafted crystalline reflection of her powerful self from years ago. The majestic symbol of the house of El glowed with a light of its own and the reds and blues of the uniform were shiny and clean, like if the fabric was made of microscopic stars.

A wish and the crystalline statue gained life. It walked towards her with natural steps, stopping near her and posing for her. This costume held special meaning for her. The first time she put it on, a magical feeling swept over her.

Seeing it again made her heart jump joyfully, her smile arouse beautifully. The day she arrived from earth everyone was speechless, everyone cheered her and named her their savior. Also, everyone thought that her mythical flying powers came from the uncommon, yet hypnotically attractive costume she wore. She never told them, she never needed to; she was back, the Omegahedron was back, Argo City was saved; that was everything that mattered. She continued with her normal life and hid the reality of her powers until she didn't need to anymore; it didn't take long. The first 2 days after her arrival were the most special days; she was constantly receiving gifts and thanks from every citizen, gifts that she gently refused; except the arc in front of their house's entrance. But she enjoyed more her secrets flights in the inner space; those moments were unique…

_Kara approached the empty probe airlock, quietly and discrete as a soft breeze, floating in the air towards the door to avoid any noise. Inside the chamber, she taped a symbol __on the wall that became alive, transforming into many other perfectly enlighten symbols and icons that sprang out and floated around her. The inner door materialized and the decompression began; she smiled innocently, her heart was screaming with excitement. A few more second, and the outer hatch dematerialized, opening her the way to the yet barely explored inner space. Kara took her time, and walked gracefully outside, over the void, like a princess entering her kingdom. Her bracelet communicated her mind that her wish had been granted and her smile arouse; for the city's sentinel conscious she was just one more probe going out on a brief recognizance mission, and nothing else; nothing that could reveal the wonder of a kryptonian doing the impossible. She even took the precaution to go out in the moment were all other probes and recognizance crafts were being evaluated and reformulated._

_It was pure delight… She was walking over nothing, like stepping over invisible bricks. The magnificent lights and the glow of her home's walls behind her created an iconic environment that, together with the glow of a relatively near storm nebula, produced an enchanting moment. Kara closed her mighty fists and flew forward, straight towards the storming nebula ahead. She reached the uncanny inner space phenomena and smiled delighted. She kept her eyes open and with her marvelous power plunged inside it, diving inside a fresh eruption that could disintegrate an asteroid the size of Australia in a nanosecond. The sensation of submerging into the blast and flying straight to the center of the most powerful singularity of the inner space was unspeakable._

_She spun, rolled and danced graciously deep inside the singularity, enjoying and laughing about the colossal forces around her that could only amuse her. A moment latter, her curiosity emerged and she couldn't resist the impulse to analyze that energy beast like no one could do it before. Using her superior kryptonian mental abilities she began to decipher and understand the nature and behaviors of the forces bathing her. Satisfied, she relaxed and simply closed her eyes, falling asleep._

_Kara opened her eyes and stretched among the destructive forces around; it was time to return, for more than obvious reasons she didn't wanted anyone to know. Kara left the nebula and called her Zaltas's Nexus bracelet backup from its dimensional vault. The wrist jewel regenerated itself, carefully following the perfect contour of her left wrist, ornamenting it elegantly. She ordered the intelligent jewel to perform its concealment trick again. The bracelet amazed her yet again and cleverly masked her dimensional signature to hide her from the city's conscious. Zaltar's little present was not just a nice looking bracelet that reacted near a kryptonian power source but a fully functional Nexus bracelet; Zaltar was working together with the team that developed the technology before his imprudence._

Kara sighed and closed her eyes; her delicious rides didn't last as much as she wanted: the third time she got outside something terrible almost happened to her. A sensation already forgotten invaded her suddenly, in the middle of her sweet flight, the sensation of being out of air. And if that wasn't bad enough, she felt the sharp coldness of the inner space stinging her body while battling not to lose conscious during her sudden return. She barely made it back and it was scary enough for not to try it again.

The deep silence of the main living room was broken by the unmistakable hum of the house's transporter. A well-dressed male figure materialized slowly in a blend of colored swirls; Zor-El. He was one of the most prestigious members of the ruling scientific council in Argo City, Kara's father and brother of the even more famous Jor-El, Kal-El's deceased father.

(Zor-El) The brother of Krypton's greatest scientist was experimenting with a new way of transporting matter and energy trough dimensions when the nightmare happened. Memories of his meetings with his deceases brother rained over him from time to time, drowning him in a sea of guilt where there was no island he could rest on. His world's destruction was so contradictory and tragic at the same time. He wasn't sure about his blotters claims; he did several tests himself, and Rao, although an old star, still had several million years ahead. He never believed in him, he couldn't... Who could? But even so…it happened. Just like Jor-El predicted: an impossible catastrophe.

That old puzzle still troubled him in his dreams sometimes; how could Jor possibly know that Rao was going to explode? When all and every possible scientific evidence was pointing to the opposite direction! Maybe he had a vision…or something like that. He mourned and prayed in silence to his god, requesting him to tell Jor, wherever he might be, to forgive him for not believing his words. If he only have had more faith in him… Then perhaps both would have found a way to save krypton from the cataclysm. But the best place for the past was in the past itself, so he let it go again.

The house's conscience sensed his arrival and saluted him, sharing with him everything he needed to know or requested about his home at a speed only a kryptonian could assimilate. He sensed her daughter's strong emotions and sadness flowing through the family mental ring; she had forgotten to block them with a privacy wall. "Her mind must have been troubled" speculated Jor. He went to his dormitory first, knowing his wife was there, following the strict kryptonian family code. Alura was present but only physically; her mind was still in the virtual Krypton. He bowed his head and resigned to ask her to help him with the melancholy of her daughter; after the last time, it was pointless.

The scientist turned away from the odd sight of her mind absent wife before him and head towards her daughter's room. The house's conscience already alerted Kara that her father was on his way. She cleared her face from the tears and waited.

The crystalline door dissolved and Zor-El entered her dormitory, walking with elegance and softness. He didn't say a word and sat next to her daughter. Zor-El caressed her long smooth hair while staring at the teenage crystalline version of Kara, dressed with the flashy blue and red uniform.

"It is hard to let beautiful things go. Isn't it?" asked Zor-El, a little awkwardly.

Kara nodded, feeling her sadness emerge. Despite her outward discipline and her notable position she was still a normal person.

Being raised as a kryptonian had its struggles too; she had learned how to maintain an impeccable appearance like everybody else and to dominate her feelings; but sometimes they wanted to emerge and shout! And right now she was sad, nostalgic and a bit depressed all at once.

Glancing at her father, Kara had to fight the desire to ask him to let her visit earth again. But she let it go, like many times before. She knew her place was in Argo, among the survivors of her civilization. Much was expected of everyone. And if there was a still a future for Krypton, then that future laid in her, in all of them. Kara decided not to let her father or herself down; no matter how much she liked the power she had before, no matter the sacrifices she had to do.

"It doesn't really matter, father. There are more important things than my dreams..."

"Do you miss earth?"

"Yes and no. It was like living a fairy tale... Like being a mighty princess in a fantasy world full of richness and beauty (beauty and treasures) to discover and enjoy. It became even addictive for me because...there was just so much I could do and see. However, at earth people yell to each other, hurt each other, offend each other, and treat others bad so often... I never heated anyone or anything in my life but there…I learned to hate. And it scares me father.

Zor-El reclined her daughter's head on his chest and kissed her shiny golden hair. She opened him her toughs completely.

"Kal's world is the kingdom of contrasts, father; there is unspeakable beauty and goodness, but also so much evil and suffering. In Argo City everyone talks sweet to each other. Our home is always nice and peaceful, and I won't change that for any power in the universe, any feeling or any fantastic world."

"You have a very noble heart Kara... Keep it always safe."

Zorl-El lost his gaze on her uniform again, with hundreds of questions he never asked before.

"For a few days you where the most powerful woman in the universe. How did it feel?"

"It is indescribable, father. You can accomplish so much..."

"What about your thoughts?"

"I was confused at some point and... I must confess you, father, that I was afraid; afraid that it was too much power for me. That I could lose control over and be unworthy or irresponsible with it."

"If those where your thoughts, my Kara, then you were in the correct path. We are far from being perfect, even belonging to the most advance living beings in the universe; our limitations can misguide us, and ignorance can destroy us. The only way to stay in the path of perfection is by constantly and wisely question our thoughts and decisions; as well as the principles that rule our lives."

"But my questioning can fail me too, father."

"That is why we have the word of God to warn and guide us, my dear. Perfection is necessary for any successful development and progress. No life, or system, can be successful built nor rest on imperfection; because if that where the case, sooner or latter those foundations will collapse and the consequent damage may be irreparable. My dear Kara, never rest your confidence neither decide the path of your life based on thoughts or philosophies others then the path of God. Logic is perfect there, and you cannot fail.

"You are right, father; you always are."

Zor-El laughed a bit.

"Not always, my beloved daughter. Well..." he caressed his chin a bit "Maybe 98% of times. What do you think?" father and daughter smiled contagiously, until a the last long suppressed desire stole most of her recently recovered joy; strong feelings of selfishness washed over her and she felt the urge to let it out of her system; once and for all.

"I became a hero back there; and part of me wanted it to last forever, father. It was so beautiful... But I knew it wouldn't last. Still, I have dreamed many nights with it again." she looked deep inside her father's blue eyes. "Forgive me father. I shouldn't be talking about this; about dreaming to be a hero again. I am so selfish."

"That depends, Kara... If you are eager to be a hero for the sake of others then a hero you are, and a hero you should be! Real heroes are the ones who sacrifice themselves for others, the ones who give themselves to others expecting nothing in return. And you sacrificed yourself for all of us when you went trough the unimaginable to retrieve the lost Omegahedron; so you are a hero."

Kara shook her head.

"Maybe I was a hero back then... But now, it is different; Supergirl is gone. I am not her anymore"

But Zor-El was determined to give her daughter the truth her heart was desperately needing (starving for).

"Why not?"

"Supergirl was an extremely powerful woman, father. With enough strength to knock planets out of orbit. Now, those powers are gone. I can't help anyone like I did before." she gazed down.

"Kara... A hero without powers is a hero nevertheless, just like a musician is a musician with or without his instrument. And even without his tools, a true musician always finds a way to express his art, just like you have expressed your heroism without your powers."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need those extraordinary powers to be a hero, Kara; the truth is that no one needs them. Powers are simply tools, they don't make you a better person or a worst person, they don't make you a hero or a villain; it is your heart that makes you a hero or not. An I can tell you that the moment I saw you fly away in Zaltar's spaceship to retrieve the Omegahedron to take responsibility for your actions, I knew there was a hero in you. And now you have saved Ral's future. Yes, the academy's overseer told me what happen. So, as far as I can see, you are a real hero, my daughter. And I am more than proud to be your father. That suit belongs to you because it is the visible sign, the vivid expression of your heart; the heart of a true superwoman. Please ware it again, for me, for Argo, and for you...

"Father!" Kara hugged her father as her crystal clear tears illuminated the special moment. She cried in happiness on her father's chest, knowing that his father's words were nothing but the truth.

Zorl-El stood up and took his daughters hands, making her stand up too.

"Now come with me, my daughter. There is something important I want you to see."

Zor-El led Kara to the house's transporter and invited Kara to step on it with him. Rao was long gone in the horizon and the eye catching artificial sky was already dressed with countles of elegant stars, inviting every one of the city's inhabitants to rest for a new day.

"Father, where are we going?"

"You told me many times that you just love to visit the council's main lab whenever you can. Don't you?"

"Yes, but..."

"Well, then allow me to grant you a special visit; just you and me. I promise you will love it!"

"Are you sure?

"98% of times, my dear."

Father and daughter shared a warmth hug as their figures vanished slowly in the air.

Argo City's core was like a city within a city; elegant and large temples, ruling halls, vast crystalline libraries, art vaults and historical museums where part of it. The science council ruling chamber was within a floating crystalline sphere whose only access was a special teleporter illuminated by a cylindrical pillar of light, that shoot down from the bottom of the sphere, falling like a light waterfall over the impressive device 1 mile below.

One level below the ruling chamber was the Smegahedron chamber. A special place with a very special meaning for Kara. It was the first place they visited. Kara asked for permission to hold in her hand a very particular one, nicknamed Selena. Zor-El called the power source and the spinning orb flew from her crystalline nest to the opened hands of Kara.

Zorl-El took Kara directly to the center of the core

The city's core contained most of the city's data crystals, organized in multiple perpetually growing crystal grove. The data within these crystals were the city's nuclear genome. Among the functions of the core was to maintain data integrity and consistency, also to create and maintain the mechanisms for the data to interact to the various specialized crystals that would be used for different purposes; also to control all of the city's activities by regulating data expression and reproduction. The main structures making up the core were the Nuclear Vault: a double crystal membrane that enclosed the entire nucleus and separated its contents from the city itself and The Crystal Flow: a floating liquid crystal meshwork within the nucleus that added physical support.

They arrived to the councils main lab; a true labyrinth of floating holographic data and morphing sections that would turn every being's mind crazy; except the trained mind of one of krypton's greatest scientists, Zor-El.

Zor-El started to play with the flying symbols, icons and object in a away only he could understand. "I have a surprise Kara. Something the science council had been working on for a while; something for everyone." exclaimed the scientist, smiling all the way. He touched a holographic icon and waited. "Brace yourself, my beloved daughter."

The crystalline floor at the center of the room opened like a blossoming flower. Enchanting tones resounded across the room as one of the councils vaults opened and revealed a tiny shiny crystal that slowly floated upwards and froze a yard above the ground. She knew what it was, a fundamental solar crystal; but for what purpose? Could... could it be?

Zor-El reshaped the symbol in his hands and the crystal started to shine brighter and brighter, until exploded in an orchestra of sounds, colors and forms, showing a future taste of a yet not mature reality. A brilliant kryptonian sunrise blasted the unusually clear horizon in an explosion of colors revealing one of their home planet's unforgettable landscapes. Kara couldn't hold back her tears and neither her father. They were standing over one of her most beloved places of her destroyed home, the road of the thousand temples; a valley among breath taking mountain peaks where silver-crystalline roads led to thousand magnificently beautiful temples that spread trough the most famous mountain chain in Krypton. It was summer, so there where flowers and some alien looking vegetation blossoming in carefully crafted niches at the sides and within the road.

Zor-El hugged her shivering Daughter as both opened their hearths to each other. He cried in silence holding her close to him, feeling her warm heart. "It is not completely ready, and we estimate one o two more cycles before Krypton II can start growing. It will be exactly as before, our home, where we belong!"

She looked at her father eyes with her glassy ones, her cheeks were soaked in tears. Zorl-El took her daughter's tears without worrying about his own. And turned to delight himself again with the still imaginary kryptonian sunset; where tears met with old dreams that where going to become true very soon.

"I can't believe it, father! How did you...?"

"With a lot of time and love, Kara; the key for many things." He smiled again at his daughter's angelical face and turned towards the sunset, to let the red light bath his elegant features. "The crystal is in its final stages of gestation right now. And tomorrow, the council will make it public. A present for all kryptonians. He hugged her tightly. "A new home; like the one we lost. And this time we will be staying here, in inner space, away from the madness and the chaos of normal space. Our artificial sun will be accordingly augmented and carefully controlled, so that no tragedy ever reaches us again. We may even rebuild our entire solar system if we want... There will be a new future for us, my Daughter. Instead of wandering through the universe to accumulate knowledge, we will be the artists of a new universe inside the limitless vastness of the inner space; we will craft planets, moons, nebulas, galaxies... So that one day, when we are gone, they become the homes and sanctuaries of those that will come after us.

"It is such a blessing..." she bowed her head slightly. "It is so sad that where are the only ones that will enjoy this present and not all krypton..."

Zor-El remembered his lost beloved brothers and sisters briefly, and with a gesture, terminated the virtual reality simulation. The fundamental crystal that showed his still developing treasures descended to the vault again, where it continued to sleep and grow.

The vault closed.

"It is a strange moment we are living in, Kara. There are sad memories and shines of new futures everywhere, all competing to win our hearts.

"Which one do you think will win, father?"

"The one we feed most, Kara."

Karas eyes shined with new hope; there was a way to get her mother out of the virtual world, to save Ral's future. To give everyone…a new tomorrow.


	4. Lost Paradise

Lost Paradise

_The sun was high in earth__'s sky, a mist of colored petals from small flowers flew everywhere around, and the near beauty of the majestic mountainous landscape filled the world._

_Kara smiled with her eyes closed and softly tilted her head to fully feel the soft touch of the warm masculine hand that gently caressed her face. She kissed the hand and opened her bright sapphire eyes to fill them with the handsome face of her true love; but something was different, it was not the face of the human she knew to love called Ethan. Still, she didn't care. She moved her face closed to his' and merged her sweet pink lips with his lips in an unforgettable kiss._

Kara opened her eyes abruptly, returning fast from dreamland. She touched her exited lips tenderly. That powerful love feeling was still there, and not only in her lips but in her entire body too, burning in an eternal fire. It was pure love! She had been in love before, but she never felt it this strong… Actually, she never felt anything like this before… And she wanted more, much more. She was shivering, she wanted him; she wanted the man that made her feel it. But…who was he? The strange part was that she never saw him before, and he was definitely not kryptonian, for Kara knew every single man in Argo and none of them had his features. And the curious part was that he wasn't Ethan. Ethan... It was very strange, but the feelings and the passion where over the top; it was so beautiful, so addictive, that Kara believed with all her hearth that it could only be a good omen.

"Yes..." Kara sat up, her sleeping robe started to morph into her regular home clothing, following her mental command. "This will be a day to remember. A day that will remain in the history of new Krypton forever!" she concluded with a marvelous smile.

A floating holographic mirror formed before her. Kara commanded it to become a full size mirror, no, even a larger one. When she was satisfied with the size of her reflection she called the statue holding her beloved Supergirl uniform.

Kara ordered the living statue to morph into a new form and it reshaped like intelligent water. The statue became an alien makeup kit where the uniform melted like liquid honey; each different part of it entered a separated bubble carefully placed into opened flower buds that formed a crystalline floating flower ornament. She commanded her current footwear to melt away and to levitate to a colored crystal mosaic at the left wall; her regular clothing wardrobe. Kryptonian wardrobes were like makeup kits where the user could mix the different kinds of clothing crystals available and play with its atomic structures to produce the desired colors, textures and shapes; it even allowed the creation of new clothing material, designs and types.

The liquefied footwear found its place in the mosaic and turned into a symbol shaped crystal, entering a deep sleep until her future call. Kara turned her attention to the floating wardrobe before her and touched the bubble containing the uniform's boots delicately. She watched as the red shinny liquid moved around her forefinger like intelligent living jelly. She smiled.

"A little shinier uniform would be perfect for the first of all the bright days of New Krypton…" announced the kryptonian girl, while playing with the liquid in her fingers. With that said, the red matter on her finger and the rest in all other bubbles became shinier, as if the small stars that were submerged on it multiplied according to her desires. Then, she applied the red jelly in her fingers into her right knee and watched amused as the liquid started to cover it completely while transforming into her Supergirl's uniform modified right boot. Satisfied with the shinier look she mentally commanded the rest of her uniform to join her again. The renewed liquid uniform distributed in each bubble turned to vapor that flew and surrounded her like a supernatural rainbow cloud. Kara let the joyful sensation overwhelm her and moved graciously in a slow kryptonian dance while her vaporous uniform solidified over her and her dayly clothes vaporized and turned into another small colored cloud that rested peacefully in her palm. She blew the cloud softly and it traveled to its place; at the wall's wardrobe.

Kara closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, allowing the wonderful sensation to overwhelm her. She moved her fingers across the marvelous frictionless tissue covering her left forearm; the kryptonian intelligent tissue had adapted perfectly to her new body size and condition to fit perfectly, just like the last time. She took another deep breath, curved her shiny pink lips beautifully, and exhaled slowly while accompanying the soft blow of pure air with her opening eyes; It felt like she had regained a part of her that had been lost.

She looked in the mirror and was amazed by the image that looked back. She realized again how much she had changed. She was no longer a cute eh|dhyv but a real **e}Dyv** now. From an slender and athletic girl to a gorgeous 6 foot 2 big girl, 140 pounds, long wavy and flaming gold blond hair more intense in color than before, like true solar flames. Her face hoever, was as angelic as always, retaining her adolescent beauty. The gorgeousness of her young body was at full display. Her strong curvy torso was clad in a skintight blue body suit shining as if was made of countless miniaturized stars. Her hips and upper thighs were covered by a short ruby red mini skirt; her feet and tick calves by glossy red boots. A long scarlet cape hung off of her shoulders which were now pulled back, accentuating her perfect breasts sticking out proudly from behind the renowned "S" logo.

The moment was almost perfect, but something was missing…

She issued another mental command through her nexus bracelet and her room produced many holograms created from her memories of earth: trees, flowers, water, singing birds and a heart touching breeze combined perfectly in a dream garden of unmatched splendor. The virtual garden that suddenly surrounded her was so real that they even had controlled substance. She smiled and danced among the fully blossomed flowers; a human looking alien ballerina living her fantasy in a fantastic world. She was so immersed in her stunning dream that she didn't even notice her father entering her room.

"Earth is an incredibly beautiful World, Kara… Their God has surely blessed them very much…

Kara was slightly startled by her father's unexpected presence and stopped her dancing. She smiled back at her father's loving smile.

"But our god has blessed us to, Father. I can see his blessings right here." She hugged him warmly.

Zorl-El returned the hug and caressed her daughters' long wavy hair. "I wish I could have your heart my dear… Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand Rao's love."

"Look father…" She called his elegant deep blue eyes with hers. "We are together. Isn't that Rao's greatest blessing? Outside our city the evil still coexists among the goodness in the normal universe, and we are safe from that evil here. Rao allowed our former home to perish but gave us a safer one instead. Isn't that a great blessing?"

He touched her daughter's features tenderly; she looked so much like him…

"I think you are right, my daughter. And also that everyone in Argo deserves to treasure that truth also. Come; let us begin this glorious day."

Father and daughter entered the main living room and sat in their correspondent chairs in the center; the morning knowledge ring was about to begin. Kara saw her beautiful mother's empty crystal gravity chair and sighed briefly; it has been a long time sense she had joined them for one of the best moments of their advance culture. Their eyes closed and flow of soft light rose from the chairs and their bodies. Kara giggled joyfully as the endless flow of information and sensations flooded her mind; the kryptonian morning ring was the moment where each and every kryptonian shared their last findings, teachings, lessons, experiences and knowledge. While at earth people were teach to compete against each other to progress, the kryptonian way of progress was entirely based on cooperation instead of competition; everyone shared everything with everyone, thus achieving mutual progress; in this way every kryptonian would grow wiser and smarter, and would be able to overcome his/her own limitations for everyone's benefit.

Kara opened her eyes and her father stretched a bit. He went to the transporter pad and saluted her daughter while vanishing within the light dance, traveling trough dimensions to the Science Council's lab. She collected all necessary data for today's lesson and walked outside. The day was wonderful…

Every day there was another perfect mirage of the missed glory of krypton, the gone home world no one wanted ever to forget, the canyons of Shrikell where now bordering the residential area, with its 8000 km deep abyss, bristling with hundreds of waterfalls and summer cities that looked suspended in the magnificent and bright crystalline groves and fertile flower gardens contrasting the natural beauty of the crystalline formations all around.

Kara walked with pride and grace, joyfully smiling back at the sometimes astonished eyes of her fellow kryptonians that watched her well known top form now dressed with "The Miraculous Suit" as many of them proclaimed back then. She arrived at Ral's home in no time and picked him up under the bulged eyes of his parents. Ral, by the contrary, enjoyed the look of his personal mentor with more joy that he was able to express; walking at her side with his head up, holding the hand of the "Savior of Argo" with pride and enjoying the somewhat perplexes gazes of the his fellow citizens even more than Kara was.

Kara took a small detour that took them close to the perimeter of the city; near the same place the Omegahedron was lost the first time. The whole mall was different now; the Cristal shield that contained the city's atmosphere was much more advance and strong than the old version; protecting the small metropolis and its content from casual dispersion and allowing control over the inner environment of the city by avoiding external unwanted matter or energy. It also determined what could enter and leave the city in specific locations; it also detected and bonded specific molecules and atoms so it could get them outside or inside through specific systems. The crystal membrane could also allow the entrance of certain compounds for specific studies; encapsulating them in its crystalline structures at the same time the objects were pushed inside the city.

"Are we going somewhere else, Kara?"

The girl in the super suit smiled "No, Ral. I just wanted to remember a little bit. We will be in our way soon."

Without warning a loud bang resounded across the city walls. A large, refrigerator sized, egg shaped purple fireball blasted through the crystal shield, and the kryptonian sky illusion, and impaled itself on the street not too far from Kara, shooting a rain of debris above and around. The new intelligent crystal shield closed immediately after the objects penetration and instantly compensated for any atmospheric loose or alteration.

The citizens ducked immediately with the thunderous impact and only raised their heads when the city's perpetual calm seemed to return. What they saw, partially sunken in a molten crystalline crater at the center of the street near the edge was the strangest thing they had ever seen.

"Kara, what's going on?"

"I am not sure, Ral. Just stay close to me."

Two young scientists dressed with regular lab robes where the closest to the impact zone and the first ones to approach the strange pulsing egg; their natural kryptonian curiosity had taken over. One was more eager than the other.

Don-Ta extended his left palm towards it, approaching his nexus bracelet to the mutalink egg to almost touch it, while his best friend kept his distance.

"Runo, are you analyzing this? It's amazing!"

"I think we should not approach it until the Cicer Crystals encapsulate it, Don." The Cicers were small crystal bubbles with stasis gel for transportation of wounded citizens or living specimens, used when the crystal transporters where inoperable or could not be used. Cicers formed naturally because of the properties of kryptonian organic solar crystals; however most Cicers have specialized functions depending on what materials they contain or carry. Because Cicers tend to look alike, it is very difficult to tell the difference between different types of Cicers without sampling their contents. Cicers, however, were used mainly for storage and transport of materials within Argo.

"They will do it in no time. But right now we should scan it as much as we can. See the light and the pulsing pattern? I could almost feel it is organic, but the readings I receive are... Confusing, even contradictory. What about yours?"

"I am not taking any!"

"Don't let fear stop you."

"What about prudence?"

"This is a unique opportunity, Don." He turned around his head to encourage his friend with his shiny eyes, bulging from curiosity. "Com one, my friend, lets unveil this marvelous phenomena first hand."

He never could.

A nightmarish head blasted from the purple pulsing surface and attacked his hand with the speed and swiftness of a snake. Glittering translucent mandibles full of resin bite the curious forearm, gripping it strongly before returning inside the egg with the whole arm of his victim. Don-Ta's shock was so intense that it shadowed the huge pain his limb was experiencing inside the mysterious egg. He struggled and screamed until his arm was released. He pulled it out fast, groaning in pain all the way. His limb was severally burned and deformed; like a dried grapefruit. His legs went numb and he fell on his knees, breathing heavily, seizing his distorted arm with his right hand. His face was pale as paper. His nexus bracelet acted immediately, subjugating his master's pain and starting to reconstruct his severally hurt arm.

"By Rao!" Runo-Ur back paced without a second though while his friend was collapsing. "Don, get out of there!" But he couldn't, the shock and pain combination was too much for him.

All nearby citizens that witnessed the macabre attack where either paralyzed from the impression or running away as far as possible from the mysterious object. The egg's pulsations increased dramatically until it exploded in a terrifying organic blast, spiting waves of a strange humid purple mist and gelatinous rests; the creature that emerged from it, was as horrible as impressive; a 12 feet long combination between a lizard and an ant, with a purple translucent exosqueleton that allowed everyone to see its internal constitution partially.

The creature's head was repulsive, with 4 glowing yellow eyes that send a message of fear to all who witnessed tem.

Runo-Ur froze at the sight of it, paralyzed by the most pure fear he had ever experienced. He had never been terrified before; no one had since the destruction of krypton. The creature walked forward slowly, towards the paralyzed kryptonian.

Ral screamed at the sight of it. The creature turned his head and fixed his venomous eyes on the kriptonian kid, hissing at him slowly. Ral and Kara withdrew a few feet and the creature charged at them.

Panicked, Kara ran from the monster, holding Ral firmly, but their speed where no match for it and the beast leaped one, two, three times to cut the distance between them and jumped high over both, opening his monstrous mound. Ral was constantly turning back in desperation, and he saw the inevitable attack. With every ounce of strength he had he pushed his strong mentor aside, far enough from the creature's mandibles, a heartbeat before the attack. Kara stumbled and rolled over but quickly managed to get up again, just in time to see the monster eat Rall up to his waist and raise his slim frame upwards to swallow him completely.

Kara's mind froze in shock, for one second, and then an indescribable transformation occurred inside her mind and spirit, as if some kind of alternate conscious took complete control over her. Her aqua blue eyes blazed savagely in the most pure fury anyone could conceive, her angelical face was now the face of an enraged angel. She screamed, and charged towards the strange monster still devouring Ral. The creature clearly sensed the treat but decided not to bother about it, but Kara didn't attacked him as it expected; she caught the beast by the neck and applied pressure like a nutcracker, with all the power her muscular arms could deliver, desperately fighting to prevent the creature to swallow Ral completely; hoping to force it to spit him out. The beast fought the choke fiercely, while the strongest arms in Argo struggled boldly for Ral's life with a might born deep inside Kara's heart. But even a bear hug powerful enough to crush a full sized bison's ribcage was not enough... The mutalink growled, more annoyed than angered by Kara's brave but useless struggle to save his victim, and jerked his head and neck violently in a wiping motion, snapping her of instantaneously. Even Kara's mighty grip was clearly not enough against the raw power of the mutalink and embraced the air. The kryptonian girl landed in the floor roughly and rolled several feet before her gymnastic instincts took over and brought her to her feet again in a beautiful flip over a single hand stand. Now Kara could do nothing but watch has the horrific translucent beast finished swallowing the helpless Ral and transformed itself in an egg shaped cocoon a few seconds later. Val was visibly struggling inside, each second lees and lees.

Kara clenched her fists strong enough to burst tennis balls. She revealed her perfect teeth fiercely and charged towards the bizarre cocoon like a mother defending is son. She watched Val diving slowly into unconsciousness until she could not stare at it anymore. She viciously hammered the cocoon with her fists, ignoring the pain. Val shivered one last time and froze suddenly. Kara yelled at him, opened her palms and hit the bizarre surface of the cocoon with all her strength, hoping vainly to awake his protégé; to bring him back to consciousness, or back from the death, but she only provoked an even greater pain for herself. Kara cried loud as an incredibly sharp pain attacked her hands; energy covered spikes surged violently all over the cocoon, like a natural defense mechanism, impaling her opened palms in the moment they were hitting the surface. Thick blue blood splattered on Kara's face and stained her hands and the floor below. Kara shut her eyes tight, blinded by a pain she had never experienced before, as if her hands were impaled on red hot needless. She clenched her teeth and screamed at the same time, while pulling her hands out of the needle wall. Kara yelped in more pain when she finally released her hands. She fell on her knees, conquered by a seemingly never stopping and burning pain. She watched her blood stained hands shake uncontrollably until Zaltar's nexus bracelet finally subjugated the pain and started closing the blood covered holes in her hands. She thanked Rao for this technology; it was not only healing her bruises and wounds but also eliminating the poison o whatever those spines injected her system with. She stared at the cocoon again; there was nothing she could do; if she was going to try to rescue Val she needed help, lots of help. She called for help and alerted her father trough the mental channel when the real nightmare began.

A rain of mutalink eggs shoot trough the city's perimeter shielded dome like artillery shells; severally damaging everything they hit on impact.

The attack of the Ranam Cult had begun.

Panicked and sunken in deep chaos, the citizens from the last Kryptonian city ran for shelter and protection as best as they could, looking desperately for a way out of the reach of the terrible creatures that emerged shortly after each egg's impact. The monsters where just like the first one, a few ones had minor differences in color and exoesqueletal ornamentation.

Kara ran from the mutalink egg shower like a gazelle in the middle of a meteor shower. The spawning monsters where frenetically attacking and swallowing everyone they caught, in one piece, turning themselves into cocoons identical to the first's one, with their victims imprisoned inside for some unknown purpose.

She forgot about everything and everyone in that instant, and focused in one of the many temples of the city that lied ahead. More bizarre screams resounded behind her. She turned around just one second and quickly resumed her run. Dozens of creatures ran through the abandoned city mall, looking for more victims in a thundering stampede. Close to her, the huge doors of the temple where already starting to close like a human iris. She hurried up, demanding her solid leg muscles all the speed they could deliver, and hoped she could make it before the small crowd at the other side of the door sealed it completely. Kara heard quick steps behind her; the creatures where faster than her, a lot faster. She summoned hall her reserves and forced her body to the limit, running like she never did before, praying for the people at the other side of the slowly closing door to help her somehow. Her hopes were answered when a fast low flying Cicer Crystal speeded towards her. Kara measured the time and jumped beautifully, fractions before the crystal rammed her, sliding her fingers gracefully over its frictionless surface. The crystalline improvised projectile collided against her pursuer like a missile, consuming itself and its prey in a resounding explosion of light and power waves that danced in the air. Kara made one, two, three short jumps, and jumped forward as fast and high as she could; stretching her body like a diver passing through the closing iris in a blink. The crystalline doors sealed completely and the scared kriptonians at the other side caught Kara in her fall.

Kara was deposited gently in the floor; she sat down slowly conquered by exhaustion, fear and despair. The crowd started to calm down, partially relieved, and started to make the questions no one asked or answered until then.

"Ral…" whispered Kara with closed eyes. Tears began swelling up at the thought that she had lost him forever.

Nim-Ur, the eldest of the group trapped inside the sealed temple stood up and checked every survivor of the attack with bulged eyes.

"By the glory of Rao! What are those things?"

"I don't know, Nim, but whatever they are they seem eager to consume large organic life forms like ourselves!"

"Maybe they are an inner space indigenous life form we have never encountered before, and are attacking us to defend their territory!" speculated another survivor, desperately seeking for an answer and a solution.

"Imposible!" retorted Nim "We have explored and deeply analyzed several thousand light years around us; that makes no sense, we should have encountered them long time ago! Why would a creature like that...? Wait..." Nim stopped his brother's and sister's imminent words with a gesture; another missing peace took place, a crucial one. "Why did the city's sensor aura didn't warn us of their approach?"

There was a moment of tense silence after that question. The city's senses where so powerful and advance they could even perceive permeations around and within distinct dimensions, and even collect data from thousand light years around their city.

"Good question, It should have, unless…" A strident bang shook the large circular crystalline door separating them from the unknown terror behind. Van-Or touched the thick crystal and ordered its intelligent matrix to reconfigure itself to become stronger and thicker.

More loud blows resounded

"This could be an attack..." We are under attack!"

"That is absurd! We are kryptonians, we have no enemies!

"Now we do..." Kara massaged her perfectly healthy palms as if the pain and the wounds were still there, while barely lifting her head, and merging her terrified face with her brother's and sister's, feeling more than anyone else the weight of her own words.

"All right…" Nim looked at everyone in the eyes "Right now we must recover as much serenity as we can, and we need to..." A thunderous shock wave echoed through the tick door as if it were a drum membrane. The wave pushed the already frightened group of kryptonians away from the beautiful polished surface, forcing them backwards. A scar ran through the polished door and cicatrized equally fast. Van-Or almost jumped to the door and ironed his palm against the frictionless surface, commanding the sealing crystal to reconfigure to become stronger and thicker. The door started to change following Van's commands, evolving visibly into a darker, heavier and sturdier version of her former self. But even with that power in his hands Van knew it wasn't enough and that their shiny hope would soon be broken; the data flowing from his bracelet to his mind was conclusive and unfortunately accurate.

"Run! They will get trough! Get to the core! Our advance crystals could…" A dense ray of pure incandescent purple liquid energy drilled furiously trough the heavy crystal door, and straight trough Van's hand. Hearts drowned in terror as every eye turned away from the intense glow of the passing beam. Van's nexus bracelet resisted the power that went through it, and fell to the ground, resounding delicately. Everyone ran without looking back, to the praying chamber, hoping they could reach the safety of the city's reinforced core before death reaches them.

With one last act of bravery Van-Or took his fallen bracelet and ordered the structure of the ceiling to separate into many loosen layers and fall behind the running group ahead, as well as the crystals of the floor to grow upwards as pillars; blocking the path of the monsters that where consuming the doors of the temple with their energy breaths. He stood up proudly; his nexus bracelet liquefied, traveled and reshaped itself into his right wrist, and started to heal and restore his consumed hand. One of the creatures jumped inside the small improvised cave. He closed his eyes. The mutalink attacked him without delay and swallowed his body in one piece, morphing into a cocoon shortly afterwards.

The group reached the praying chamber swiftly; the door was promptly sealed and reinforced. But time was everything they didn't have, and they attackers seemed to have everything on their favor. In the middle of their desperation they hear familiar voices and begs flooding the collective conscious of the city. Everyone closed their eyes. As their minds meld with the city's a wave of paralyzing fear and indescribable terror flooded the heart of each one. The images they were witnessing could only belong to the worst nightmare; in that instant more than one wished he or her had perished with their long ago destroyed world. Every one heard and saw the desperation and the screams of his brothers and sisters. Sharp screams of fear, pain and terror blend together in the horrific spectacle; it was not just the perimeter: the monsters had invaded the entire city! The creatures where attacking everyone; men, women and children without hesitation or apparent reason; transforming their dream city into a creepy garden of semitransparent cocoons with their victims inside.

As panic overwhelmed the survivors inside the praying chamber, the words of his fallen brother echoed in their minds: "Get to the core!" Some of them where frenetically thinking in a way to achieve that feat facing a crude reality: the nearest transporters where all resting in the middle of the park behind the temple, where a heard of those monsters already cocooned the people in it.

The situation was overwhelming and the unknown creatures seemed to be already everywhere. Their purpose was also unknown, as well as their goal or origin.

"They could be feeding from us!" cried one of them in desperation.

Everything about them was a scaring mystery. Where did they come from? How did they find them? Where they perhaps some native inner space life forms? The nexus bracelets gave the survivors tons of apparently contradictory information about those creatures, as if they were natural and artificial at the same time. But they had studied the inner space deeply for many years and never found anything like that, not even clues about something alive anywhere near or far away from Argo. But then again, inner space was as infinite as normal space, and when that number steps into the equation anything was possible. Still… if they could manage to stand their ground, to shield themselves in the core, then perhaps the creatures would leave or end their feeding cycle and then they may have a chance to survive. Destiny seamed to play a cruel joke with their kind again.

Kara prayed loud to her god in her heart, begging for answers, help and mercy, peace and a safe life. Had the children of Rao disobeyed their maker? Did they deserve this? They always did what they have been told to, and the ones who do not where living an eternal hell in the phantom zone; as they deserved it. They were not like the inhabitants of earth who seemed to enjoy disobeying their god and local authorities; the vast majority at least... And even so were blessed so much more than they deserved.

Mina An-Dor lost all hope and fell to the ground. Lun-Ta fell at her side and hugged her beloved wife; merging his fearful heart with hers, embracing the same path "This is fate... It is our fate! We should have never survived our beloved Krypton. It has always been the decision of Rao…" she spoke, in the name of her heart. Kryptonians where a proud race, obedient to the last, pacific to the extreme, intelligent as few others.

"Mina as spoken the truth! Why don't we open our eyes? There is no more greatness waiting for us in the confines of time. No eternal peace, infinite enlightenment or an idyllic future for us in this universe. It is time... Time to accept our extinction and become one with Rao. Time to leave this twisted universe and embrace the eternal pace at Rao's side. I say, that if our time has come, we must face it as true kriptonians, let's accept our destiny and departure from this life with pride and happiness!"

Kara couldn't believe those words, she had to do something; she had to say something.

"How can we know for sure that this is Rao's will or doing? We were saved from the destruction of our home world by a practically nonexistent margin! If Rao didn't saved us back there then who did? And if he did, I refuse to believe it is his will to turn us to these creatures!"

Nim-Ur nodded; proud of the strong will and the heart of Zor-El's daughter.

"Kara is right! We must defend ourselves and find a way out! Survival is part of nature, if we must defend ourselves to claim our place in the universe then so be it! Who is with me?

Everyone stood up or approached Nim, allowing their actions to speak louder than any word in that dark our. Everyone except two…

"We are sorry... As for me and my wife, we will accept what Rao's providence has for us. Farewell our beloved brothers and sisters. Rest assure that you memory will always live in our hearts!"

"Yours too." Nim bowed before the couple, and turned to the brave daughter of Zor-El. "Kara..." called the elder kryptonian "You are the strongest in the group and have gone where no one of us has ever gone before and returned victoriously! I trust your courage and skills as much as Rao's power. Would you lead us?"

Despite those encouraging words Kara's fear took control.

"Forgive me, Nim, but I am no leader. I...I can't." She lied. She wanted to help, she wanted to give her best and even her own life for the sake of every one in Argo, but the fear of losing someone again under her wing was stronger than her. She lost her gaze on the impeccable crystalline floor.

Nim-Ur prayed shortly, in silence, and took the lead. He concentrated and reviewed the situation like witnessing live episodes of the past; measuring their possibilities and looking for a strategy. He focused on the cicer and the other service crystals, still flying around freely, still fulfilling their duties in the attacked city. He narrowed his eyes and a faint triumphant smile arose. "By Rao! Of course! Listen, listen everyone! The service crystals and our other labor crystals are still active and are being completely ignored by those creatures!"

"How can that help us?"

"We will do the same thing we did to help Kara at the entrance, but in a much larger scale! We can fuse our minds with them and command them to ram the creatures or block them! Like a swarm of angry kryptonian squarks!"

"Yes..." Kara raised her angelical face; her shiny blue eyes glowed with new hope. "We could even modify them to counter the invaders!"

"We may not have enough time for that, but we should keep that on mind too. Let's go!"

The mutalinks roared and waited, as hungry tigers waiting for they prey to fall in their trap, moving softly and menacing all around the majestically beautiful and great alien park, unaware of the hidden improvisation that was ready to attack them; as ghosts lurking in the shadows.

One soft tone, delicate and charming, resounded from the temple's back door. The crystal that formed the barrier diminished wonderfully, inverting its amazing growth, revealing a small group of humble and resolved kryptonians determined to fight for their lives and freedom, or die trying...

Nim-Ur walked forward, with his eyes fixed on the monstrous being growling in front of him, 40 yards away. The mutalink leading the pack hesitated a few moments; his targets had abruptly modified they behavior pattern, too much. Something had changed…

The cult's living weapon scanned his environment quickly and ordered his brothers to do the same. There was an invisible and inaudible answer that echoed within all of them. Without warning the pack leader jumped towards Nim-Ur, so fast and so powerfully, than it was impossible for him to escape or fight his destiny. Or wasn't it?

Nim-Ur drew a sweat smirk from deep within his heart. An eye blink before the fierce mutalink touched him a glowing crystalline meteor rammed the falling beast like a bullet train, with deadly accuracy. The impact resounded fiercely in the air, and the most bizarre shriek ever heard, escaped from the badly hurt monster. Nim's smirk changed to a battle hardened face and a brave cry escaped his lips.

"Nooow!"

Every one ran for their lives, for the only possible way out: the transporters.

Nim-Ur's and Val-Zar's crystals began to ram, push and ultimately to smash themselves on the confused mutaliks so violently that there was little else remaining from the impact afterwards. The beasts clearly never saw them even as a potential threat, not even minimally; but who would?

In a flash of motion, two mutalinks darted towards the fleeing crowd while another two bolted towards Kara from the other side in a pincer movement. Kara felt her tension level skyrocket at the sight of it and quickly commanded 8 crystals to spin around her rapidly, forming an intelligent circular defensive perimeter that effectively hammered every mutalink that tried to catch her or got to close; like meteoric boxing punches; hitting the mutalinks sometimes like rounds of a machine gun, other times like lighting fast jabs, body blows, and finally uppercuts.

The daughter of Zor-El moved graciously and smiled; some confidence had gained ground in her heart, reinvigorating her, making her stronger. She was now protected as if by a circle of invisible giant boxers whose punches where the only thing the monsters could see.

It was working!

Some of the group's attacks were more refined than others, but even the simplest barriers where holding the creatures back or sending them into oblivion.

They were going to make it; each and every one of them.

Nim-Ur shouted the group to form a diamond shaped formation in order to cover all flanks and to advance relentlessly towards their now close goal: a group of 4 transporters aligned close to a small lagoon. They would need to hold the mutaliks in check a while before all could escape, but given the new odds…that would be no problem. Kara took the rear and tightened her spinning barrier around her.

The group became confident, but the battle was far from over.

"Don't let them attack our rear! Once we reach the transporters we will jump in groups of four. Kara, you are doing superbly well! I need you to stay with the last group to be sure.

"Look!" Nim-Ur saw what confirmed their suspicions even more. The mutalinks stopped charging them and divided into groups that tactically blocked their way to every transporter pad; how could a beast know what that technology was meant for?

"This is surreal..." babbled Val-Zar. There where two possibilities but only one correct answer, and the gifted minds of every kriptonian in there shouted it loudly: someone was directing those beasts, someone far more intelligent, and with a completely unknown goal in mind.

Kara looked all around, trying to find the leader responsible for the creature's tactics and organization with the help of her Nexus bracelet; she couldn't find one. However, who was directing their attack must have a special mental link with this creatures; one she needed to find and block. "Nim, I am trying to determine the mental channel these creatures are using to communicate among themselves and their leader, but haven't find any so far. How about you?"

"Nothing..." Stated Nim between his clenched teeth, without letting his guard down. "And we may not have enough time right now to discover and cut it, so I suggest we focus on getting to safety. There will be time for that later".

"Yes, you are right".

The creatures had been completely surprised by the kryptonians smart improvisation, but the joy of the brave defenders didn't last long. The mutalinks had perceived the defenders tactics and switched their own, surprising them in return. The monsters regrouped at a safe distance from the victim's improvised defensive satellites, forming a tight wall between the fleeing kryptonians and their goal. Nim-Ur squinted his eyes fearfully and stopped his run; the small caravan of hope behind him broke their advance as well, carefully holding the defensive line and their positions.

The game had changed.

"What are they doing…?"

"I am not sure."

The mutalink leader examined the shocked faces of his victims carefully; their expressions gave him all the information he needed. The commanding beast turned around to examine the curiously beautiful disk shaped device behind him that the humanoids where so eager to reach. It scanned it deliberately, roaring all the way, and then attacked the device wildly like a starving lion.

Nim-Ur panicked and charged towards the mutalink line like a mad bull, shouting as loud as he could.

"They are going to destroy the transporters! Take them down now!"

Nim released roar so impressive and mighty that surprised even the brave men and women at his command. He instructed all his improvised orbiting weapons to dart towards the mutalinks guarding the teleporters in front of him and to hit them in pairs; as to squash as many beasts as possible with a speed and pattern that would be impossible for them to avoid or whistand. All mutalinks in front of him hissed and roared at the same time; with enough time before the impact they combined themselves in groups of three; like jelly made creatures melting together, turning into a bizarre luminous pool that splashed against the ground and avoiding the mighty kryptonian projectiles. The small lagoons emitted a series of tones and strange luminous patterns and started to inflate; as if someone inside where blowing the gelatinous mass up; turning it into a rare resinous and flickering balloon. Nim-Ur couldn't stop his amazement, but neither his run; determined and angered, her retrieved his protecting crystals and grouped them closer together; preparing them for his enemy's next move.

If he only knew...

The gelatinous multicolored balloons grew as big as elephants and exploded away their deadly new warriors when the kriptonians where near enough; hundreds of smaller flying mutalinks, mutated accordingly to counter their foe's defenses. Nim-Ur went wild at the sight of the horrendous swarm that engulfed him alive like carnivore wasps, he tried desperately to make the crystalline defense around him to get rid of them; it would have worked with bigger, more massive foes, but not against creatures so small... Even when dozens of mutalinks where mercilessly destroyed by the know larger defensive crystals, more than enough could avoid the rapid spinning barrier and attack him effectively like a furious swarm. In a second, Nim was covered by thousands of small mutalinks that brought him to his knees in the middle of a horrible screams of agony so terrible and fearful, than all other kryptonians stooped death in their tracks, shocked.

Nim-Ur was covered with small mutalink insects that appeared to have eaten him alive. A second later the insects formed the same kind of cocoon like the bigger ones produced. Nim was inside, floating like if trapped in an blue greenish egg, possibly death and with his barely visible body covered with terrible wounds.

The other balloons exploded as well, liberating their nightmare, unleashing a furious swarm at the now shocked kryptonians. The scene that followed the new mutalink attack was as horrible as desperate; the now poorly adequate defensive crystalline satellites orbiting or floating around the desperate kryptonians could simply not defend them again. And the once full of hope destiny challengers tried everything they could to repel the countless small horde that attacked them mercilessly. Kara's heart was now an empty kingdom where fear was the sole ruler; she backed fast, knowing very well that there was no other way than forwards. Thoughts raced one after the other; her only chance was right there! Right in front of her, if she could only reach it, if she could only shield herself from those creatures…

Her heart glowed with new hope as a marvelous and obvious idea sparkled inside.

"Shield!, of course!" she shouted in her mind.

Kara stopped, summoned all her strength and last reserves of bravery, and charged forward, jumping has high and far as she could after a few paces, right towards the transporter platform in front of her and the implacable swarm. She couldn't possibly reach the pad with that jump, and the insects where be all over her in a heartbeat. Then, it happened; something amazing. Kara shut her eyes tightly and concentrated as much as she could, the crystals orbiting her formed each one a perfectly polished piece of a translucent crystalline sphere that close around her in the last instant, protecting her like a shield bubble from the little mighty aggressors. The sphere hovered long enough to cross and opened right over the transporter, before the small mutalinks could devour her clever protection. Kara felt the soft touch of the teleporter's floor under her feet and issued the mental command. Some mutalink insects managed to bite her just before she vanished.

A soft and nice tone resounded across the elegant and scarcely furnished living room of the house of Zor-El, announcing the materialization of an individual over the house's teleporting pad. Kara reappeared and stumbled on the ground like a sack of potatoes; she was hurt and in great pain, clenching her teeth and shutting her eyes so tightly she almost felt her eyeballs where going to explode. She did her best to remain silent, but even with all her might she couldn't stop a few groans to escape her. She rolled over and tried to kneel up, she barely could, whatever poison or substance those tiny flying creatures managed to inject her with was literally burning her from the inside out, she was about to give up and scream as crazy and loud as she could when she felt the pain slowly fading away; her nexus bracelet was finally countering the substance poisoning her effectively, although it toke it more time that she expected, she was extremely thankful that it did. Kara opened her eyes and cheeked her surroundings, then rapidly took cover behind her father's large crystalline gravity armchair; as she planed when her foot touched the telepad, she ordered it to transport the little monsters outside the city, and herself to her parent's house. She knew the safest place was the core, but she needed to rescue her mother first; it was highly likely that she was still submerged in the virtual krypton, and if so...she would never see those horrible monsters coming to devour her until it was too late. She rose from behind the armchair slowly. No his or any alien sound was perceived by her ears; perhaps the monsters hadn't reached the residential area...

Kara checked the insides of the house trough its conscience and gasped at the sight of one of those beast slowly approaching the armchair where her mother was still peacefully connected to her false reality, like a tiger stalking it's pray. She opened her desperate eyes and looked everywhere, she needed a weapon, a stick, anything!

She remembered what her hands where touching.

Kara commanded the crystal that formed her fathers favorite armchair to morph and change, transforming into a mighty mace with a massive spherical tip; the first homemade weapon of a civilization that had no place for violence nor war, much less any kind of armament. She gave it as much density and mass as she could, until her impressive muscles bulged proudly, and ran to face the creature with more desperation than courage.

The mutalink jumped and attacked the beautiful and peacefully sitting blond woman, swallowing her up to her waist in a horrifically impressive bite, stealing a strange scream from her. Allura was still partially immersed in another reality, with her body releasing waves upon waves of pain to her now semiconscious mind. The creature broke the beautiful armchair she was sitting on with the attack and was holding her in her mouth like a leopard enjoying the last struggles of its prey. Kara entered the room. She only heard the partial scream and found her mother's body almost entirely sunken in the creature's expanded mouth. She went mad and charged the surprised creature.

"Leave my mother alone!"

Kara's desperate cry caught the creature's attention, but the monster was in the process of swallowing Allura and she was already too close to avoid the attack. Kara jumped and hit the mutalink in its mid section whit her crystalline mace with all she had, maximizing the effect as much as she could, hopping to force the beast to release her mother and attack her instead.

The blow was tremendous.

The gravity of Krypton was greater than earth's, forcing its inhabitants to be stronger than humans and many other life forms in order to live their lives in a normal way; and the artificial gravity at Argo was the same deal. Every regular kryptonian was faster and stronger then earth's greatest athlete; and Kara Zor-El had more than a regular life…she enjoyed the human's sport called gymnastics very much, and trained dally in the gravity pool to become faster and stronger. It was her way to fill some the nostalgic sensations the lost of her powers left her with. She was always in top form, and without a doubt, she was one of the strongest kryptonians in Argo. She even won a simple arm wrestling contest she organized at a kryptonian festival a few months ago.

Her blow had enough power to turn a bowling ball into scrap. The resounding thunder was so potent and scary that she closed her eyes and clenched her bright teeth, unwilling to witness the effect. But the mighty blow had a completely unpredicted consequence: the hammer bounced back slightly and the returned energy forced her a few steps backwards. The creature's midsection had been deformed, but it started to reshape itself slowly and steadily, and her beloved mother was still in its mouth.

The mutalink tossed Allura aside with such force that the woman flew and landed against the wall, and fell like a rag doll; her unconscious body was full of bruises and begging for relief. The creature then turned to Kara and advanced slowly, new sharp and long fangs, and serrated teeth grew in its mouth. Its claws sunk purposefully in the crystalline floor. There was no mistake about those signs; the monster was furious.

Kara readied her mace and the hammered mutalink fixed his furious four eyes on Kara's improvised weapon. She charged again and the creature released a loud roar that turned itself into some sort of solid sonic beam. The sonic beam hit the spherical top of the mace and blasted it away in a million peaces. Kara screamed wildly and fell to the ground covering the right half of her face frenetically; it was badly burnt and hurting crazily. With the desperation of an injured and cornered mouse she started to drag away from the room in a futile attempt to escape the inevitable, then, her body started to vanish. The mutalink roared and jumped to catch its vanishing pray, but could only bite the shiny floor.

Kara felt the familiar sensation of being materialized again, somewhere else.

"It worked!" Zor-El hurried up and helped her daughter to sit. "Kara, mi daughter, are you all right?" blinded by concern, he barely noticed the awful burnings that now marked her daughter's otherwise perfect face. When he finally saw them, after checking her general condition with his Nexus bracelet, he scanned them and sighed relieved; her bracelet was already healing her wounds and vanishing her scars, leaving her body as impeccable as ever.

Kara managed to speak even with every inch of her body still burning in pain and asked with a fading voice "Father?"

"I am here, Kara! Don't worry, we are safe. For now..."

She looked around, hoping to find a familiar face. Her tears started to roll out when that horrible reality hit her, still, she couldn't stop asking.

"Mother..."she was sobbing; she was desperately praying and looking for a strength she didn't have any more.

Zorl-El looked at her hurt, devastated daughter, and shared his own tears with hers.

"I am very sorry my daughter..." He closed his eyes for a second, forcing out the words he didn't want to speak. "She was still partially immersed in the Virtual Krypton, and I couldn't transport her here as I did with you. It was an experimental transportation system that only requires 1 single pad. I am sorry I only had enough time to save you and the system is already starting to destabilize..."

"Where is mom?" her face was an ocean of tears and fear. "Where is she, father?"

"That creature had cocooned her body in or sleeping chambers, my dear. I have scanned her as much as I could but I still can't determine her real condition, for those...things seem to block our sensors and are even causing problems to our transportation technology." he explained while tapping, and reshaping floating icons and symbols following him at his right. "But my futile attempt to save my beloved wife gave me another idea, I have run a test and it will work! Kara, there is a way out. But a terrible one I am afraid.

She read his eyes as looking into her father's own soul.

"Father, no!" She turned him around and paralyzed him with eyes submerged in deep fear, she begged with all her heart. "Don't do that! Please!" She had been there, in that indescribable and chaotic hell, obscure, cold; where the only reality was despair, emptiness and desperation. No soul could endure that place to long without breaking down and dry.

"It is our only chance I am afraid! I can program the mouth of the dimensional gate of the phantom zone to respond to one of our nexus bracelets thoughts. It will work for everyone except for yours' Kara, for it was one of the prototypes and lacks some of the last protocols. But I have made you another, while preparing my escape route. Please wear it on your right wrist my daughter."

"Your escape route?"

"I have isolated one specific transporter at the secondary star craft's bay. My personal research pod is ready to fly. And it is the only way, I fear… But this time that sacrifice will not be yours, my beloved daughter. You and the rest of us will suffer…but briefly, I hope. Still, you and our people will be safe from death's stinger. I need you to keep their hearts safe and alive, I need you to give them hope over there; you have the strength, I saw it, you did it once and you can do it again. I have instructed the phantom gateway to expand until it permeates the whole city, submerging every kryptonian; each one of us except me. I am redy to transport myself into the outer space. With enough power, and a bit of luck, I will be able to hide between layers of space time until I am sure those things are gone, then, I will jump to normal space, were there are more than plenty places to hide, and will build a cloaked lab and shelter in there; once properly configured, I will start all necessary researches to build a new phantom zone projector to get you, Allura and our people out to safety; even if it takes me a thousand years!"

"Safe from death?" A banished memory returned from the deeps of her mind; one she fought to forget forever: the living images of Zaltar falling into the dimensional storm that almost swallowed both. "Zaltar died inside the phantom zone, father!" her tears never left her eyes. "I saw it and you know that!"

Zor-El sighed. He wished this moment would never come, and looked at her daughter's eyes as much as he could. "Zaltar is not death, Kara. There is no death inside the zone, only suffering, eternal suffering. He must be drifting somewhere within the phantom dimensional storm; it is also possible that he stays trapped in the storm forever…"

"You could have told me, father!" protested Kara, unable to hold back how much those words hurt her; she deserved to know… and instead of the truth, her parents have lied to her.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"If we would have told you the truth then you would have tried to go back there to rescue him, and then we could have lost you forever too. Forgive me, Kara, but I could not take that chance and neither your mother…"

Zor-El froze suddenly. He rapidly called a group of screens that showed the perimeter around the core, the access points and the situation of his ship; something was terribly wrong. The creatures where already reaching the core and in a few minutes they would be all over them. One more immersive three dimensional hologram appeared, unfolding the terrible reality before their shocked eyes; almost all kryptonians in the city where cocooned but. Kara gasped at the sight and shook her head, still refusing to believe the nightmare that was consuming them. And then, to their horror, a particular hologram showing Zor-El's small ship resting peacefully in a solitary room was flooded with mutalinks.

"Nooo!" screamed Zor-El while watching the tireless creatures destroying his only hope, brutally fast. The scientist fell in his knees, his hand stretched towards the image of the destroyed ship before him. His hopes collapsed like a sack of rocks. He covered his face and his breathing became vague…

The day their civilization was supposed to resurrect had become their doomsday.

Kara wanted to say something, to do something…she just couldn't. Both became living statues for a tense minute; petrified by fear and desperation.

Zor-El rose up slowly; young tears stroke his cheeks, testifying his defeat. But he still had a last card to play; one he heated more than the creatures that where destroying them and their paradise …but he diced to use it anyways. He turned to face her daughter, with tragic eyes.

"Our time has come, Kara. Providence as spoken, and there is only one more thing to do..." He gave her the nexus bracelet he especially prepared.

She shook her head; she knew exactly what he was going to do.

The immersive holograms fused in one and showed the creatures outside the lab; they were fighting to break trough. Zor-El bowed his head.

Kara though she would never see her father like this; he looked more than broken, worst than afraid: hopeless. Strangely, in that precise instant, she remembered Zaltar in the phantom zone and for a second she saw her lost friend's face in his father's. Not everything was lost back then… Something happened there that changed fear into hope. Then, she remembered her happy days in Argo and that "something" inside her started to awake again. She could feel it, even if she couldn't name it or understand it! She could feel this strange and overwhelming emotion rushing through her body again. She wouldn't give up, she couldn't!

Kara looked at the monsters again; they only had a very short gap of time to activate the projector and send everybody inside, there was only one detail left, one that chilled her; one would stay behind. She saw the determination in her father's eyes, and her deepest fears arose again.

"Father..?"

"Someone must stay behind and destroy the projector. Whoever is behind this attack must not follow us, my beloved child…"

Kara gulped as if she where trying to swallow ice cubes. New tears marked her pink cheeks and dropped on his father's hands holding hers'. She knew her father was going to give his life for her; she wanted to live, but didn't wanted to lose her father. And at the crossroad she remembered her long lost friend's encouraging words: "Nothing is impossible Kara…" She remembered something and her eyes glowed with new hope.

"Father… "Kara hugged her father tightly, carefully controlling the little time they had left in the back of her mind. Zor-El looked at her daughter, sharing with her his love and the eyes of a defeated and condemned victim. Still…something confused him; Kara's angelical face was glowing with a rare strength and fierce determination in the sadness of their last moments together.

"I love you father!" She cried loud and hugged him even stronger. Zor-El felt her warm tears touch his face and also the potent and peculiar sensation that always accompanied the activation of the phantom zone projector. Zor-El opened his eyes shocked and turned his head around. Kara had activated the projector while hugging him and now the pre-instructed massive phantom gateway expanded like a blasting supernova; permeating everything. For his surprise, he felt his body, his mind, his entire being changing; he was being canceled. The sensation was much more terrible than the greatest pain he could feel; it was real and absolutely unstoppable. He was trespassing the barrier between life and death, but still retaining his essence. He was turning into a living ghost.

That sensation could only mean one thing.

Zor-El watched in horror as the spare Nexus Bracelet he gave Kara was resting peacefully in his right wrist. He cried loud one last time as the indescribable might absorbed his whole self into the feared eternal kryptonian dimensional prison.

"Kara!" called Zor-El, desperately fighting to remain in this reality. He was supposed to be the one to sacrifice his life for her daughter, not her life for his! Not again! But in less than a second his entire existence was sucked inside. Kara sobbed in silence as the prismatic dark purple gateway filled the entire city, passing harmlessly trough her.

The mutalinks froze suddenly, their senses yelling at them that something was terribly and inexorably wrong. The dimensional gateway passed through everything, including the mighty beasts. They began to shriek and alert his masters telepathically about the unforeseen and still unclear potential danger. But the reason for the astonishing phenomenon became very clear very soon…

The gateway permeated the silent cocoons and every kryptonian inside disappeared; engulfed into the dimensional prison, all of them… All of Sarack's wanted super slaves.

The living conscience governing the Ranam Temple, overseeing the assault on the last kryptonian city, alerted Sarack at the same time his dimensional senses sprang alive, telling him that something had happened, something bad…

"Dimensional singularity detected." dictated a cold voice all over the throne hall.

The war lord sat up and left his throne, troubled.

"Impossible!" roared the warlord, desperately looking for an answer. He was a dimensional warrior, trained to sense and understand every anomaly and singularity in existence, but this…was more than strange, more than just a dimensional distortion. A crafted mystery, with a sinister purpose…A very powerful anti-reality the kryptonians managed to shape, use, and perhaps even abuse from.

"Analysis!" demanded Sarack.

"Unknown inverted dimensional eruption in progress. I am still incapable to perform a dedicated analysis due to insufficient information and non existing entities."

"A simple 'I can't' would have been enough…"

The tattoos in the face of the cult's leader changed dramatically and the dots on them acquire a dark yellow that contrasted with his deep blue skin tone; he was very angry.

Kara was alone…alone in the proud laboratory of the last Science Council of Krypton. Her enemies where outside, close to claim her as they did with her brothers and sisters. She looked at the images of the attackers feed directly into her mind by her bracelet with furious eyes; she had 2 more things to do. The kryptonian girl touched the control crystal of the Phantom Zone projector and gave it a very dangerous command. She walked close to the door separating her from the beasts and ordered the floor beneath her feet to grow a special protective crystal that covered her like intelligent water and solidified instantaneously.

The creatures cut through the door and attacked the thick crystal covering Kara on sight. She smiled; it was time for some payback…

The Phantom Zone projector imploded violently and a powerful singularity sucked all creatures inside an endless collapsing miniverse, and severally deformed the beautiful laboratory. Kara's weakened protective crystal broke into bits right when the implosion ended. She landed elegantly thanks to her gymnastic skills and scanned her surroundings quickly; her nexus bracelet showed her that the remaining beasts where apparently confused by the forces she liberated. It was more than she could have asked for; it was her opportunity.

Kara Zor-El send a special command to the main conscience of the lab, one she had access thanks to her father… The roof of the damaged laboratory transformed and opened elegantly, like alien flower blossoming upside down. She watched exited and impatient as the Omegahedrons, nested in light buds, that powered the bright city, descended peacefully to her level. She fixed her eyes in one particular spinning orb; her hope to escape and save her people.

"Come..." Kara called the small spinning power source, whose power was comparable of that of a small star, with her voice.

'Selena' levitated out of her place and drifted freely, resting gently on Kara's open palm after a swift flight. Kara issued the power source another command and feed it with a radical and risky programming. The orb spun faster and faster, until the groves and kryptonian symbols on its surface disappeared. She closed her eyes a little as the orb glowed brighter and brighter; it was time for the wonder.

If that human, Selena, could use the matter and energy manipulation powers of the Omegahedron to mimic a strange power she called magic, then she also could use it to her advantage. Zaltar use it to build and animate things; she could do it too. It didn't matter how dangerous it was; her father's words echoed inside her heart, giving her strength "You are a hero for me…" she trusted her father's words. And heroes never turn their back on those in need.

The Omegahedron grew smaller, until it was no bigger than a small pearl. Kara gulped and prayed for courage, then she swallowed the mighty little power source, hopping for a miracle with all of her heart.

There was a story somebody told her, back at the distant earth, about a woman that turned into a salt statue. If there could be an experience that somewhat could resemble that. Then this was it. Her body experienced a terrible sensation and an intense but brief blast of pain. After it she felt as if her whole being was being smashed from the inside out, and violently transformed into something else, something completely unknown... The sensation was so overwhelmingly horrible that she couldn't even scream, only pray and hope the pain will go away, while struggling with every inch of her being to remain alive and conscious. A few seconds more and the pain was giving away to a disgusting new sensation, she felt like if her spirit was being ripped of her body and being put into another one, a cold and savagely strange one. But deep inside…there was an addictive sensation of immense raw power that stole a smile from her almost transparent crystalline lips. Her change completed fast, and she barely made it alive; she had jumped against all odds into the unknown; it was the only card she had, and it appeared to have worked. Kara straightened her new form and looked at her reflection in the palm of her crystalline hand, there were some barely visible patterns and marks inside that could resemble what had been once the insides of a kryptonian's hand, but only apparently. The change was complete. She screamed and turned around, heading outside of the core; the sounds she made where not kryptonian, but of a new life form.

Kara reached the aperture in the core's shield from where the mutalinks entered and gazed to the vastness beyond. There were literally thousands of those creatures everywhere, covering almost everything. She clenched her fists and released another mighty war cry, full of rage. The mutalinks followed with their eyes the fighting declaration of the strange creature that resembled one of their escaped prisoners, but the readings they got from it where very confusing. The creatures hesitated and Kara stormed outside; she needed to get out quickly; her goal was not to destroy all of the creatures but to escape as fast as possible. Although the idea of turning them into piles of ash tempted her more than once, wisdom dictated against it; she only did a very dangerous improvisation to empower herself with the goal to escape in mind; she didn't know if her new powers where going to be enough or if she was going to be able to properly control her new form. Kara aimed at the closest beast in front of her and punched the creature, concentrating all her new strength in the surface of her fist. The result couldn't be more satisfying...

The impact was awesome, and besides deforming the mutalink to an weird mass, it send it crashing against all others behind him like a meteorite, opening a clear path for her.

The mutalinks behavior showed an unusual level of intelligence for a creature of it characteristics again, and the creatures started to avoid Kara's wild rampage with little to zero success. Until they seemed to organize themselves better to try a counter attack; but it was not even near enough to stop the mighty crystalline kryptonian girl. Kara, on her behalf, avoided to engage any creature not directly in front of her as much as she could, and enjoyed her new powers very much.

One of the pack leaders send a command and a chosen one attacked Kara with amazing swiftness. Kara raised her hand, opened her palm and generated a scintillating star she shoot against the creature, sending him message of destruction. But this mutalink reacted fast and dodged it in an eye blink. The star passed at the creature's left. The mutalink roared and let its energetic serrated teeth to glow and invade the ambient light with its own. Kara anticipated the mutalik's intentions and with a triumphant grin ordered the star to explode. The shining projectile detonated right behind the creature. The growing blast struck the rear of the beast and literally disintegrated half of it , severally damaging the rest of the monster as well.

Kara stepped aside. The mutalink cried out in pain as it crash landed close to Kara, carving the crystal floor repeatedly in a vain attempt to sink it claws on her. She ignored the perishing creature and faced the endless horde around her. She concentrated her mighty power and transformed her human form into a prism that grew exponentially fast. The mutalink horde attacked, but the crystal grew faster than they could devour or destroy it. The growing crystal peak was close to reach the high ceiling when the growth spur stopped and the small mountain exploded, disintegrating all mutalinks that where frenetically attacking it like an army of angry ants; revealing a mighty and gigantic kryptonian girl wearing a muscle shaped armor that was part of her own body. She looked like a giant ice warrior queen protected by a bio-crystaline shiny armor. When the fanatical beasts charged at her again in all their ways and forms, she unleashed her power at them like an enraged giantess. Kara created two, slightly different in color, vaporous spheres in each hand. She developed the spheres while pushing her arms backwards to build enough momentum and power. When the horde of attackers where close enough she released a cry that shattered the surroundings, and united the spheres in each hand with a clasp. The fused spheres grew even more and exploded in the direction of the attackers, releasing a hurricane of crystalline air that transformed all mutalinks into crystal balls that exploded shortly afterwards. A rain of fragments the size of sand grains flew everywhere. Kara released another war cry and advanced with mighty paces, but the fight was far from over. More mutalinks rushed to attack her from everywhere, as if she had fallen into their very own nest.

Kara walked over the countless mutalink swarm at her feet, kicking them like small marbles. The beasts that avoided her mighty paces jumped up quickly afterwards, trying to climb up or attack her hells. But every mutalink that touched her crystalline skin for too long was instantly crystallized; the giantess smiled. Kara kept kicking and hitting the small beasts, sending them in an inevitable collision course against the ceiling, the walls, and the impeccable buildings that formed her precious city. She even blew a crystallizing wind from her lips that turned her attackers into silent transparent statues and covered her giant form with a liquid force field that vaporized the creatures on contact. She was getting close to her goal now, and the creatures looked confused; she drew a faint smile and kept her demolishing advance.

The mutalinks stopped their fanatical charge and regrouped at a safe distance from the kryptonian crystalline giantess. Kara stopped too; she saw them adapt to their tactics before and how a rushed imprudence had cost one of her brothers everything. She chose to be like water this time, to adapt to their adaptation. A new mutalink chant echoed across the ruined cityscape and hundreds of small beasts combined themselves to form a huge growing ball of mutalinks that soon turned into a specialized pulsing organ. The grotesque giant object exploded and a new kind of beast emerged; a giant mutalink as big as Kara, even more menacing in appearance as the tinny versions. She could barely scan it for the giant beast charged, jumped and collided against her in a stunning impact, sending both to the deeps of Argo Lake. Tidal waves splashed everywhere and the surface became the face of chaos as the beauty and the beast battled in the deeps with all their might. The giant mutalink struggled violently against Kara's grip to bite her head, repeatedly snapping its monstrous jaws as close as as possible. Kara closed her eyes and turned away her head in desperation as terrible and painful slashes severally punished her new form; frustrated by Kara's strength, the creature had started to use its energy covered claws and spiked tail to harm her in multiple ways. The creature's claws where damaging her torso and legs while the wiping tail hammered her back.

Kara screamed loud, held the creature's neck firmly with one hand in a colossal burst of strength, and grew sharp crystalline blades in her left forearm. Slash! A swift motion and the daughter of Zor-El sewered the vicious tail once and for all. The creature went crazy in that instant and shook violently, slashing and contorting itself without pause. Kara had to release it but she wasn't going to let that beast attack her again. The kryptonian giant grew a new crystal in her left palm that transformed into some sort of spear with hydrodynamic surface and vents. Kara swung the weapon and hit the creature in the head, causing visible damage and apparently knocking it down. In that instant she remembered a very interesting earth life form and mutated her spear into an underwater whip that looked like a tentacle. The kryptonian girl hit the giant mutalink with her tentacle-whip weapon and released it immediately. The whip acted as a living tentacle and wrapped itself around the monster, producing many other smaller tentacles from its surface that effectively incapacitated the monster and sent it to the bottom. Kara launched herself upwards and shot out of the great lake. She turned around as soon as her giant feet sunk slightly in the shore and shoot two crystallizing beams from her eyes that turned the water of the huge lake into crystal; trapping the wounded monster forever.

Kara turned around, more confident now that she managed to defeat the huge mutalink, only to face two more giant monsters bursting out of their correspondent cocoons. She clenched her teeth and charged towards the already advancing twins.

The battle was far from over.

She rammed the one at her left, surprising the running creature, and pushing it until she knocked it and fell over a beautiful house in the residential area, turning it into bits and pieces. Kara rolled with the beast secured in her arms, then, she got up elegantly thanks to her gymnastic skills and held the creature up in a powerful bear hug; squeezing frenzy screams out of the monster. One wish and dozens of energy beams shoot out all around her body, liquefying the creature in her arms; she was more than eager to return the favor to these creatures and now she did it.

Before she could react the other giant mutalink attacked her from behind, stamping her on the ground. Kara spun around as the beast slashed at her with its claws and tried to bite her head. She used her forearm as a shield and the creature bite it without hesitation. She smiled in spite the pain; a crystallizing aura grew out of her crystalline skin, permeating trough the creature's head all over, causing it to open its yaws and retreat in pain. The creature began to crystallize and the creature's natural defenses fought it unsuccessfully; the new variety of crystalline parasite Kara had produced was faster than the creature's countermeasures and crystallized it completely. Kara smiled and got up proudly, but her victories came with a prize: the giant monsters had managed to hurt her new form too quickly and she needed to be more careful. She was very powerful now, but not invincible. She was close to her goal too, but after reaching the perimeter of the residential area she would need to reduce her size to get to the city's outer ring and the airlocks; that would force her to fight her way against a much greater number of beasts. But with the aid of the Omegahedron's power she estimated she would make it.

Two new giant beasts rushed against her in a coordinated attack. One charged to Kara's blind side with ferocity and viciousness, hoping to wound her severally from behind, allowing him and his brother who was attacking her from the front to bring her down effectively. The beast was about to reach her when a very familiar face surged from the back of Kara's head, and faced the incoming beast with enraged eyes. The giant mutalink was slightly surprised and loosed it's momentum, giving Kara the time she needed.

It worked...

Soon, not just the face but a perfect clone of the kryptonian giantess emerged from her back as if it had been living inside her the whole time. The new giant Kara rammed the beast and applied a submission maneuver that brought both her and the monster to the ground. She was dominating the creature and increasing the pressure applied to the creature's neck and torso until the beast reacted and began to slash at her with its powerful claws as much as it could even in the difficult position. Kara II felt the pain and the wounds the beast was carving on her living crystalline body. She shut her eyes and repeated the maneuver that brought the other giant mutalink down; an aura of aqua blue light expanded from her body, from the inside out, starting to liquefy it. Kara II rose to her feet and held the creature up fiercely, forcing her liquefying aura to consume the creature completely, countering any and every futile attempt the beast was making to free itself from her colossal strength. In a few seconds the alien beast was so badly consumed that it was no longer necessary for her to keep the embrace. She tossed away the dissolving remains of the creature to the other one fighting the original Kara.

Kara I managed successfully to use her attacker as a shield that received the dissolving beast tossed from her sister. Both beasts where consumed by the same power an both giant Karas merged again and watched the multitude of enemies that was rushing to attack her. The swarm of mutainks seemed endless, for each mutalink she disintegrated or vaporized a hundred more where replacing it, and the city appeared to be literally over infested with them; from creatures whose only goal, now that all citizens except her had been locked inside the Phantom Zone, seemed to be her annihilation…or painful subjugation in the best case.

The mutalinks understood quickly that it would be everything but easy to subjugate or terminate the giant female trough brute force and started to attack her with energy and wave force weapons instead of claws and fangs. Kara produced elegant shields that grew out of her forearms to protect herself while a new specialized bio armor covered her body.

The kryptonian girl was quickly overwhelmed with enemy fire from the smallest to the largest creature. Some shots where easier to block than others, and some could even harm her new armored form. Kara enlarged the shields in her arms until she formed two perfect half spheres and encapsulated herself with both halves. The sphere self sealed and took the enemy fire with pride. The creatures intensified their fire to the maximum, and the perfect surface of the transparent crystalline sphere that shielded Kara started to show scars and bruises; her defense was mighty, but not impregnable to such vicious and endless firepower; the shield had started to deform and wear out like a drying fruit. Kara concentrated as much power as she could and when the badly battered shield was close to break down she released the concentrated power. It appeared like the release of a nuclear detonation. The blast turned everything around into a great and blinding void, and severally deformed the basic shape of the city, but thanks to its regenerative qualities and reinforced structure it didn't collapsed.

An apparent calm settled down and she allowed herself a few seconds to relax, but never let her guard down, her senses where still at full alert. The city's still alive senses told her about the presence of something as big as Argo City anchored to it outside. The fight could be far from over, but now that she had managed to wipe all of the creatures she was confident that she could reach her exit as planned.

The city trembled and agonized suddenly, deep wounds formed inside and outside.

It was starting again.

Kara looked at the floor ahead with a shocked expression. A huge thing broke the floor in the middle of the residential area and climbed up. It was an incredibly big monster, and it looked much more menacing than even the giant version of the small ones. It had a frightening presence, like nothing she ever saw before.

The Broom.

This time she took the initiative and attacked first, with her crystallizing beams. The shots hit the unmovable monster with a beautifully effect, but nothing happened. The creature snarled and roared as the faint effect of the beams diluted in its skin, without mayor consequences. Kara clenched her fists and backpacked slowly; that creature seemed to be much more powerful than the others and probably immune to some of her attacks. She was about to try something else when the monster attacked her with an spherical shock bomb. The bomb looked like energy in form of organic tissues and when it exploded the effects were very devastating. The eroding shock waves pulverized everything around and severally damaged Kara's crystalline body armor, sending her flying straight to crash deep into the crystallized lake. Kara was about to try to stand up when the broom landed on top of her, attacking without mercy. The creature held her limbs firmly with his numerous arms and a forest of liquid energy strands surged from its exosqueleton, attacking her like vicious snakes. Kara felt her armor suffering and giving up. She struggled as much as she could but her strength couldn't break the creature's monstrous grip. The attack was even destabilizing her capabilities to the point she could not produce active nor passive defenses anymore; she was in serious trouble...

Kara was about to lose hope when the sight of the countless little monsters running around her gave her a marvelous idea, ad like a spark of hope in dark times, that idea reinvigorated her. She roared back at the monster roaring at her face, her giant body became grayish, changing its very own nature. Kara clenched her teeth and concentrated deeper. A small human silhouette delineated in her giant's forehead; it acquired volume and in an instant, the smaller human rose from the surface, jumped down and ran as far away of the struggling giants as she could. The Broom was slightly confused, for the giant Kara in his clutches was still fighting for her life, while a small, sleeker version of her, grew out of her forehead and ran away. The Broom ordered the mutalink swarm to intercept the runner immediately. In that instant the giant Kara under the Brohm broke into thousand pieces, each piece turned into a perfect clone of the small runner. The Broom was surprised by Kara's cleaver move and couldn't react fast enough. The thousand Karas smiled and began fighting their way out, each one with impressive skills; displaying power, grace and cleverness far beyond their enemies. The game changed again and the swarm quickly switched tactics; all mutaliks around hurried to chase down and attack the fast moving clones.

Kara regained some confidence in the middle of the battle; the greatest advantage of her new cloned form was that every one of her clones would act and react just as she would, so it was impossible for her enemies to determine which one was the real Kara Zor-El. But the monsters swiftly realized what had happened and the command to hunt down every single clone spread rapidly among the pack leaders. Kara's advantage had worked marvelously. She was running in the middle of a group of a hundred clones staffing towards the academy, and the odds very favorable; her new warrior partners combined their abilities to repel the intruders like a specialized commando unit, using all the Omegahedron's capabilities to neutralize the monsters with stunning efficiency. And it worked.

Fortunately, Kara's group was not as heavily attacked as other ones, which worked on her speed advantage. She was about to cry victory in her heart when the headers in her group stopped before a weird sight; about a hundred yards away, a group of fiercely looking mutalinks with different color patters and symbols split to let another kind of creature to emerge from the center of their formation. It was a bipedal creature, but its legs where similar to the ones of an ostrich; it was covered by some curios skin that appeared to be a very powerful natural transparent bioluminescent armor. He had two big neon bright purple eyes that glowed into his transparent featureless face that rested in an oval head, different from anything she had seen before. Kara's shock and fear was momentary overwhelmed by her natural kryptonian curiosity. What kind of being was that? She couldn't recall it from their knowledge libraries so it was highly likely they have never seen nor cataloged them before. But another force, a vital question, quickly subjugated all others: was he or she or both, responsible for the attack? Kara couldn't speculated about as much as she wanted for the elite group of mutalinks preceding the strange alien charged at her group with all their might and speed. Her clones could barely hold their demolishing charge and had to employ everything they had to push them back. The strange alien gave Kara's clone group a strange look and produced four differently colored dual layered energy balls in each one of his four arms and merged them in one, like merging four water balloons; he launched the pulsing sphere at her group with a dramatic gesture.

The eye catching orb imploded and exploded in the center of Kara's defensive formation unleashing a furious rain of flashing needles that sank into almost every clone in the group. Kara ducked and dodged the notorious luminous stings as best as she could and commanded her sisters to quickly avoid the mysterious alien, at the same time, she commanded the city to turn into an ever changing labyrinth, effectively insolating the alien warriors and his minions from her and her battle group.

Kara looked ahead; the perimeter airlocks where near now and so was salvation. She ran a few yards until a sharp pain in her left side almost knocked her down. She looked down and beneath her armpit; she had been wounded, and could clearly see the remains of one of those light stings dissipating in the air like smoke, but something had gotten inside her, something that infected her new form. Her eyes hurt a little and she started to feel disorientation and dizziness; she thought it was impossible, but if it happened, that creature must have an immense power... And to make things worse, it was not just her, but also all clones around that where hit started to lose coordination as well, as if infected by some kind of disease. Kara shut her eyes tightly and struggled fiercely against the poison inside her and searched for strength in her heart; she remembered her father, her mother, and all other kryptonians whose future lay in her hands. She couldn't give up.

She wouldn't!

The strong kryptonian girl ignored the breaking pain and commanded the nexus technology in her wrist to counter whatever was attacking her. Kara and her group engaged in a terrible fight against a group of mutalinks that where blocking her way inside the academy and the ones after them. The advance of the group found a brutal resistance at the entrance and managed to get trough after sacrificing more than half of them. Kara split the remaining clones in three groups, and prepared her trap. The other two groups ran towards the nearest and easier to reach transporting pads, while her group went to the gravity pool. Most mutalinks at the academy attacked the first two, just as she expected, even when the transporters where malfunctioning the mind behind the monsters knew of their potential risk and decided to deny her any access to it; fine...she wasn't thinking on using them anyway. Her group stopped in the center of the gravity pool and stood their ground. The mutalinks wasted no time and aggressively fought the clones and Kara, who withdrew from the pool when all the beast around where inside and engaging her clones. She issued a mental command to the pool and the crystal that formed it became red; warning all people inside and outside that the gravity setting being ordered was much above safety levels. A terrible symphony of cracks, bangs and pains screams resounded across the room; all mutalinks in the pool where almost instantly crushed by the powerful gravity field. She grinned and went with her remaining clones to the praying chapel; it was empty. Kara entered and closed the ample room without delay; she called a special crystal from the data grove at the left wall and began reprogramming it for her ultimate vanishing trick.

A new group of mutalinks arrived to the perimeter of the praying chapel seconds before the whole building exploded in a thunderous explosion. The beast that where far enough managed to shield themselves from their brother's terrible fate and looked for their target: there were seven clones advancing in seven different directions. The mutalinks split as well, eagerly chasing the runners down, completely ignoring a very special and harmless Ciser crystal that flew high above, among whit other service crystals that where working in the academy. Kara relaxed as much as she could inside the small egg shaped transportation crystal and commanded it to discretely fly towards the nearest airlock. Her nexus bracelet informed her that the creatures where not attacking the fundamental bio crystals inside the confined airlocks; for they could practically never be used as escape pods nor ships, but theoretically...that was another deal.

The mutalinks where still chasing and fighting against Kara's clones everywhere in the city, while their real trophy reached her goal unsuspected. Kara's Cicer crystal went through the airlock wall as if it passed through a water wall, and opened like a blossoming flower at the other side, letting its precious cargo stumble to the ground. Kara stood up and touched the big and shiny fundamental bio crystal floating in the center of the small room while issuing similar instructions to all the other crystals in all airlocks around the city. The crystal before her morphed beautifully and became once again one of her secret ways to fly around the inner space unsuspected.

It was time to leave, forever...and to face death in a duel of time.

Kara fell on all fours as she reverted her transformation painfully fast, and became a normal kryptonian once again; she could have reverted her empowered nature slower, but that was not an option. She spat the shiny power orb into her palm and watched as it grew back to its normal size. The wound at her side burned again, much stronger this time; without the power of the Omegahedron to augment her nexus bracelet capabilities she was more susceptible to the poison that was threatening her life. She didn't know if her bracelet was going to be able to counter it, and even if it could, if it would do it before the poison inside her could claim her life. She summoned her strengths, stood up and gave the powerful kryptonian power source one last command; one last sacrifice must be done; the destruction of everything her brothers and sisters worked and lived for. None of those monsters should remain to follow her.

"Father, mother, my brothers and sisters, please forgive me! Kara shouted loud and threw the collapsing power source deep inside Argo.

The baseball size energy power source flew straight through the door and to the center of the city, making its own path like an intelligent missile while Kara entered the restricted space of the crystalline craft and assumed fetal position. the small improvised ship closed herself and produced the life sustaining gel that would protect its passenger and keep her alive. Kara counted the last seconds and ordered all airlocks around the city to open. She launched all morphed crafts at the same time than her own, and thanked Rao for escaping; she only had time for a few tears.

The otherwise marvelous sight of her floating home was corrupted by the presence the huge alien hive that was hooked to it. The Ranam Hivor was attached to Argo City with multiple energy suckers; it detected the small crafts immediately after launch and send an equal amount of bio figthers to hunt and destroy each one of the small eluding probes; the attackers resembled alien spiders with spiked legs and bio luminescent membranes that impelsed them to astounding velocities. Kara perceived the imminent danger trough her probe's senses and concentrated at maximum to dodge the imminent attacks; she had no means to defend herself now and her only weapon was time; she counted the last seconds and prayed even more that her plan would work as expected.

The Omegahedron arrived near the core of the city, flying above the batlle, and detonated in an explosion that was more beautiful and devastating than anything any kryptonian ever saw before; it was the first time an Omegahedron self destructed and provoked a chain reaction with the others that where still functional. The blast expanded spherically and advanced dramatically fast, consuming everything on its path without exceptions. The Hivor released the perishing city and tried desperately to escape but the fury of the blast was too fast and engulfed the giant nest in a second; a strange scream echoed through various dimensions as one of the Ranam Cult's proudest weapons and a countless horde was mercilessly consumed and turned into nothing.

Kara forced her pod to accelerate to damaging point; if she failed at her calculations even for a fraction, her life and hope would be consumed. The super blast kept expanding violently. The last girl of krypton yelled in pain as the wound on her side and the concentration needed to escape destruction demanded everything from her. The bio hunter at her tail tried to escape the expanding sphere of destruction behind it but it was too late, still, in the last possible second fired at Kara's speeding pod and hit it before being consumed. The kryptonian craft shuddered with the impact and momentarily lost control. Her probe had been hurt and the damage was spreading trough it like a rapidly developing disease! Her ship had being attacked by some kind of very aggressive parasite within the shot and it was consuming her escape hope too fast. She merged her mind with the probe's artificial intelligence and instructed it to counter the microscopic invader as best as possible, but the thing had already affected it more than just superficially. She had to make the transition now!There was no time left. Kara commanded the probe and prayed loud. The kryptonian research craft became translucent and drilled trough the inner space reality, drilling straight trough an ocean of dimensional unrealities to the infinitude of the outer space.


End file.
